Malamander

Malamander

‘Malamander’ is an enthralling tale by Thomas Taylor set in the peculiar coastal town of Eerie-on-Sea, where legends of a monstrous sea creature named Malamander lurk in the shadows.

When young Herbert Lemon, the Lost-and-Founder of the Grand Nautilus Hotel, discovers a mysterious girl named Violet Parma hiding in the hotel’s lost and found, he embarks on an extraordinary adventure.

Together, they unravel the town’s secrets, including the disappearance of Violet’s parents and the truth behind the legendary Malamander. As they delve deeper into the town’s murky history, Herbert and Violet uncover a web of magical objects, eccentric characters, and long-buried mysteries that may hold the key to finding Violet’s family and unlocking the secrets of Eerie-on-Sea.

With twists and turns at every corner, ‘Malamander’ is a captivating blend of mystery, adventure, and imagination that will leave the readers in your class spellbound until the very end.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 begins when Herbert “Herbie” Lemon, the Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, finds his routine is disrupted when a girl scrambles through his window and begs him to hide her. Despite being young for his important role, Herbie quickly conceals the girl in a large travel trunk just as the hotel’s manager, Mr. Mollusc, and a menacing, seaweed-covered sailor arrive searching for her. The sailor, with a hook for a hand, demands to know where the girl is, but Herbie denies seeing anyone, even as the girl makes a noise from her hiding place.

The tension escalates as the sailor discovers the wet footprints leading to the trunk. He violently breaks it open, only to find it empty except for a woolly hat. Frustrated and furious, the sailor ransacks the room, but the girl is nowhere to be found. Herbie maintains his composure, suggesting the hat is just lost property, while inwardly relieved that the girl somehow escaped unnoticed.

The first four questions we have designed for your class begin with mostly retrieval questions linked to characters, but we have also thrown in a question to evaluate their understanding of apostrophes.

The next four focus on word class, words and meanings and finding spelling errors.

The final four question in the set explore authorial techniques, using evidence to make inferences as well as sequencing the events.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 continues when Herbert Lemon, the Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, helps a girl seeking refuge in his cubbyhole after a tense encounter with a menacing sailor with a boathook for a hand. The sailor, searching for the girl, leaves without finding her, but the encounter leaves the Lost-and-Foundery in disarray. The girl, Violet Parma, reveals she is the abandoned baby from a mysterious incident at the hotel twelve years ago. She believes Herbert is the only one who can help her, showing him a postcard with a peculiar image she thinks is a clue.

Despite his initial reluctance, Herbert offers Violet a place to stay for the night, insisting he is not a detective and cannot take her case. The situation escalates when Herbert receives a summons from Lady Kraken, the hotel’s owner, presumably informed of the commotion caused by the sailor. Nervously, Herbert prepares to face Lady Kraken, fearing repercussions for the night’s events.

Chapter 3

Your KS2 students will discover in this chapter how Herbert reaches Lady Kraken’s private quarters and enters her immense, dimly lit room. Using a cameraluna device, Lady Kraken shows Herbert a magical, three-dimensional image of Eerie-on-Sea’s pier, revealing a mysterious, possibly monstrous figure. She tasks Herbert with being her spy within the hotel, particularly to report any strange occurrences or visitors. When Lady Kraken questions him about Boathook Man’s visit and a missing girl, Herbert surprisingly lies, denying the girl’s presence.

Chapter 4

In chapter 4 Herbert Lemon wakens the following morning and discovers Violet Parma in his lost property cellar, eating pastries she took from the hotel’s kitchen. Violet is searching for her parents’ missing luggage and Herbert finds an entry in the register indicating their belongings were collected two years ago, but the entry is crossed out, suggesting they were declared unclaimed and given to someone else. Violet is distraught, believing her parents’ belongings were stolen, and insists on going to Room 407, where her parents stayed.

Herbert distracts Amber Griss, the receptionist, with a story about a croissant thief to get her away from the lobby, then takes the key to Room 407. Just as he is about to head upstairs, Mr. Mollusc arrives and confronts him. Herbert manages to avoid suspicion by pretending to practice addressing Mr. Mollusc formally, and he escapes to the stairs with Violet, determined to investigate further

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 tells us that upon reaching Room 407, Herbie Lemon finds it dark and unremarkable but opens it for Violet Parma, who is nervously crouched on the tiny balcony. Inside, Violet searches for clues about her missing parents, only to find a bunch of old papers and two peculiar postcards with drawings of a monkey with a fish’s tail. Violet notices that one of the cards matches the one she wears on a ribbon. When questioned, Herbie admits he recognises the cards as prescription cards from the Eerie Book Dispensary, a place that offers stories like medicine. Violet, unfamiliar with the concept, insists on going to the dispensary to understand more, leading Herbie to agree to take her there.

Chapter 6

In chapter 6 we learn that as the snow falls heavily in Eerie-on-Sea, Herbie and Violet navigate the harsh weather to reach the Eerie Book Dispensary. Inside, they encounter Mrs Hanniver, the shop owner, who welcomes them warmly. Violet presents her mermonkey card, hoping to find a connection to her missing parents, Peter and his wife. Mrs Hanniver reveals that she held Violet as a baby and acknowledges that the card relates to a book prescription, though she cannot identify the specific book due to the ever-changing nature of the dispensary’s inventory. Violet, puzzled by the shop’s unique system, is introduced to the concept of the book choosing the reader rather than the other way around.

Chapter 7

In this chapter Violet, who lacks money, uses a foreign coin found in her parents’ hotel room to pay the mermonkey at the Eerie Book Dispensary. The mermonkey, after some eerie mechanical noises, types out a book prescription on a card, which Violet receives. Jenny Hanniver explains that the card indicates the book Violet needs, though it may not be what she expects.

Violet and Herbie use the code on the card to find the book, which turns out to be a faded silver-stamped hardback titled Malamander by Captain K. As they leave, Sebastian Eels, a local author, intriguingly remarks on the book and expresses interest in hearing if Violet encounters the legend of the Malamander herself, hinting that legends in Eerie-on-Sea can sometimes be more real than they seem.

Chapters Overview

In Malamander we have created 40 question sets.

Each set consists of:
– 4 retrieval questions
– 4 SPAG questions
– 4 Deeper questions (authorial technique, inference, sequencing, summarising, similes, metaphors etc.)

How does our website work?

1. You will assign each child in your class the questions of a particular chapter.
2. They will login and complete the questions online.
3. You will view the ‘Results’ section and see how each child did.

Results
Green means that the child got the question right first time.

Orange means that the child got it right but it took a few attempts – a number will be displayed inside to show how many attempts.

Red means that the child didn’t get the question correct – a number will be inside the red box to show how many failed attempts.

Interpreting the Results
Select a range of chapter question sets in the results section and choose a child. Next you will be able to see all completed activities and look for patterns, areas of strength and areas for improvement.