What do you think?
Rate this book
The Wonderful Wandering Wagon
Are cats good at business?
The Bishops are normal children, living their life on Purvas, working in their parent's shop, completely unaware of the magical secrets their grandfather's grey fluffy cat holds.
But when Honor decides to take them all on a journey will they be able to work together to get home?
Join Sinclair, Penelope, Gretchen, and Warren as they learn the importance of family, hard work, and doing things right the first time.
This living book is designed to teach kids and teens about money, stewardship, and small business. Whether it's your family's next read-aloud or you just want a clean and wholesome fantasy book to give to your teen. Both boys and girls will love this fantasy adventure.
The Bishops are normal children, living their life on Purvas, working in their parent's shop, completely unaware of the magical secrets their grandfather's grey fluffy cat holds.
But when Honor decides to take them all on a journey will they be able to work together to get home?
Join Sinclair, Penelope, Gretchen, and Warren as they learn the importance of family, hard work, and doing things right the first time.
This living book is designed to teach kids and teens about money, stewardship, and small business. Whether it's your family's next read-aloud or you just want a clean and wholesome fantasy book to give to your teen. Both boys and girls will love this fantasy adventure.
- GenresChildrens
126 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 13, 2022
3 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 13, 2023
A delightful read. Good for reading with younger children or on one's own for ages 8-12, but all ages will enjoy this easy read. It is a fantasy tale about siblings who end up far from home in a magical traveling wagon. They must learn to work together and for the benefit of the group in order to make it back home. There are elements that remind me of RPG games, but only in the idea of challenge and choices that might for the betterment of the individual and/or group. A good family read.
June 25, 2024
Interesting story of four siblings who are taken on a journey by a cat (who is not as ordinary as they had thought). There’s a bit of mystery and a few sci-fi elements, but it’s mostly about ordinary kids learning / using skills like digging fence post holes, weaving, bookkeeping, and trapping. They problem-solve together and each kid learns lessons about work, money, and life.
It is NOT an action / fast-paced book. I found this note from the authors helpful: “this series has no world dominating, oppressive bad guys. We wanted the kids' adventure to be directly applicable to our readers lives […] While there are some outside struggles, the primary source of conflict and difficulty in this story is the children's own mistakes, weaknesses and character flaws (because isn't that what holds us all back?)”
_
Quotes:
"Sinclair, you can't control the actions of others, only your own […] When we genuinely ask someone to forgive us and take steps to make it right, we have done our part as best we can. It's up to them if they're going to forgive. Owning our mistakes is part of growing up, and being quick to ask for forgiveness and quick to forgive is also part of it. That said, Warren, if you cultivate a habit of withholding forgiveness, then you only hurt yourself. You break the relationship that you have with your brother, and you never know when that might matter."
“When you find yourself in a situation that is beyond what you’re used to, stop and think, assess what you have, and move forward.”
“Doing it right the first time would have meant a lot less work.”
“Jobs have to get done, but they don’t always have to be perfect.”
“Dad told me once that people sacrifice themselves for those they love, and there are times when we have to do things that make us sad or angry, but if it means keeping the people we love safe, it’s something that just needs to happen.”
_
Content:
The siblings have arguments and sometimes they’re mean to each other. I think this is a starting point for character growth and development as the series continues. They value family, have learned great lessons from their parents, and sometimes they apologize, but they are kids and make mistakes.
Once: “Shut your face, you little worm!” (The earliest copies of the book say “Shut up, you little worm!” but then the authors revised it). Page 112.
Each chapter has a quote from someone in the fictional world. One includes “dumb” three times.
Some references to “dungeons” where characters who are willing to take risks can go. They are kind of like dangerous adventure quests where you are trapped until you fight / find your way out.
Most characters are people, but creatures like dwarves, gnomes, dragons, little monsters, bats that shoot fire, etc. are mentioned.
Some sci-fi elements.
“Magic” is mentioned a couple of times, but there aren’t any witches or spells or anything. The “magic” functions more like sci-fi.
No romance or profanity.
It is NOT an action / fast-paced book. I found this note from the authors helpful: “this series has no world dominating, oppressive bad guys. We wanted the kids' adventure to be directly applicable to our readers lives […] While there are some outside struggles, the primary source of conflict and difficulty in this story is the children's own mistakes, weaknesses and character flaws (because isn't that what holds us all back?)”
_
Quotes:
"Sinclair, you can't control the actions of others, only your own […] When we genuinely ask someone to forgive us and take steps to make it right, we have done our part as best we can. It's up to them if they're going to forgive. Owning our mistakes is part of growing up, and being quick to ask for forgiveness and quick to forgive is also part of it. That said, Warren, if you cultivate a habit of withholding forgiveness, then you only hurt yourself. You break the relationship that you have with your brother, and you never know when that might matter."
“When you find yourself in a situation that is beyond what you’re used to, stop and think, assess what you have, and move forward.”
“Doing it right the first time would have meant a lot less work.”
“Jobs have to get done, but they don’t always have to be perfect.”
“Dad told me once that people sacrifice themselves for those they love, and there are times when we have to do things that make us sad or angry, but if it means keeping the people we love safe, it’s something that just needs to happen.”
_
Content:
The siblings have arguments and sometimes they’re mean to each other. I think this is a starting point for character growth and development as the series continues. They value family, have learned great lessons from their parents, and sometimes they apologize, but they are kids and make mistakes.
Once: “Shut your face, you little worm!” (The earliest copies of the book say “Shut up, you little worm!” but then the authors revised it). Page 112.
Each chapter has a quote from someone in the fictional world. One includes “dumb” three times.
Some references to “dungeons” where characters who are willing to take risks can go. They are kind of like dangerous adventure quests where you are trapped until you fight / find your way out.
Most characters are people, but creatures like dwarves, gnomes, dragons, little monsters, bats that shoot fire, etc. are mentioned.
Some sci-fi elements.
“Magic” is mentioned a couple of times, but there aren’t any witches or spells or anything. The “magic” functions more like sci-fi.
No romance or profanity.
October 5, 2023
Wonderful book!
My kids and I really enjoyed this book! There were so many wonderful and practical lessons that we see the Bishop children learn, and I hope that my kids will want to revisit the story again to help those lessons sink in even more. Things like working hard, not rejecting instruction, and that it's OK to let go of perfection sometimes are all things kids can learn along with the characters.
I do want to mention, because I know there are some people who will want to know, there's quite a bit of sibling squabbling. Sinclair and Warren are especially bad about that. Sinclair, the oldest, wants to be respected and in charge, but sometimes, he takes that too far and isn't willing to listen to the ideas of others. Warren, as one of the youngest, wants to contribute and not be treated like a baby, which sometimes leads to him butting heads with Sinclair. You can tell, though, especially at the end, that the siblings really love each other. I think it was a really realistic portrayal of how siblings can sometimes be, and I really hope that as the series progresses, we will see some character growth with all of them, and they will show a better sibling relationship.
The kids all seem very respectful of their parents, which is just lovely to see! I appreciate seeing that in books so much!
Overall, other than the bickering, it really kind of gives me a similar vibe to the first Boxcar Children book, and I think parents or children who liked that book may enjoy this one as well.
My kids and I really enjoyed this book! There were so many wonderful and practical lessons that we see the Bishop children learn, and I hope that my kids will want to revisit the story again to help those lessons sink in even more. Things like working hard, not rejecting instruction, and that it's OK to let go of perfection sometimes are all things kids can learn along with the characters.
I do want to mention, because I know there are some people who will want to know, there's quite a bit of sibling squabbling. Sinclair and Warren are especially bad about that. Sinclair, the oldest, wants to be respected and in charge, but sometimes, he takes that too far and isn't willing to listen to the ideas of others. Warren, as one of the youngest, wants to contribute and not be treated like a baby, which sometimes leads to him butting heads with Sinclair. You can tell, though, especially at the end, that the siblings really love each other. I think it was a really realistic portrayal of how siblings can sometimes be, and I really hope that as the series progresses, we will see some character growth with all of them, and they will show a better sibling relationship.
The kids all seem very respectful of their parents, which is just lovely to see! I appreciate seeing that in books so much!
Overall, other than the bickering, it really kind of gives me a similar vibe to the first Boxcar Children book, and I think parents or children who liked that book may enjoy this one as well.
May 3, 2023
In The Wonderful Wandering Wagon, the Bishop children find themselves unexpectedly transported far from home after discovering an old travel wagon on their grandparents' property. With little but their own hard work and ingenuity, they need to find food, earn money for supplies, and think about how they might find their way home. There's more than meets the eye with the Wonderful Wandering Wagon, however, and their adventures are only just beginning.
We love a good adventure/travel story, and that's definitely what I was expecting with The Wonderful Wandering Wagon. But what my boys (ages 11 and 14) got very excited about in this story (and makes them really look forward to future books in the series) is the unique set-up of the world with not just a "magical" to-do list, but also quests, classes, dungeons, and non-human creatures typically found in fantasy worlds, like gnomes.
My kids, who really like Lord of the Rings and role playing games like D&D, really got into discussing how this world world works - speculating further on how things like classes and dungeons might work.
I'd recommend this book not only to anyone who likes stories of kids setting off on an adventure, but also those who like these types of light fantasy elements. There aren't any strong magic elements in the story - no spells or anything like that. Just a cat who seems to have some interesting abilities, and helpful items that seem magical to the children. But it should still appeal to both fantasy fans and those who are less keen on magic as well.
We can't wait for the next book to find out more about the Bishop children's adventures!
We love a good adventure/travel story, and that's definitely what I was expecting with The Wonderful Wandering Wagon. But what my boys (ages 11 and 14) got very excited about in this story (and makes them really look forward to future books in the series) is the unique set-up of the world with not just a "magical" to-do list, but also quests, classes, dungeons, and non-human creatures typically found in fantasy worlds, like gnomes.
My kids, who really like Lord of the Rings and role playing games like D&D, really got into discussing how this world world works - speculating further on how things like classes and dungeons might work.
I'd recommend this book not only to anyone who likes stories of kids setting off on an adventure, but also those who like these types of light fantasy elements. There aren't any strong magic elements in the story - no spells or anything like that. Just a cat who seems to have some interesting abilities, and helpful items that seem magical to the children. But it should still appeal to both fantasy fans and those who are less keen on magic as well.
We can't wait for the next book to find out more about the Bishop children's adventures!
February 26, 2024
If you enjoy fantasy, give this one a try! It's different from your typical fantasy in that there's no violence, action scenes and isn't too fast paced. So if you have a sensitive reader, they might like this.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews