Marilyn Peake

Marilyn Peake’s “The City of the Golden Sun” is a charming extension of her children’s novel “The Fisherman’s Son.” As the second book in the trilogy, “The City of the Golden Sun” builds naturally on the first while indulging young readers with adventure equal to the first and more magical fantasy.

Wiley and his new friends from the mysterious, ancient City of the Golden Sun find themselves transported back to this fabled place once again by Elden the dolphin and Beluga the whale, along with a few more dolphin friends. But this time the friends are immersed, not only below the waves, but into a long-ago era when the City of the Golden Sun thrived above the ocean as a monument to the best that humankind has to offer.

As with “The Fisherman’s Son”, this novel is geared toward ages eight to twelve with a simple, concise style perfect for this skill level. Even so, there will be just enough new words to have your child coming to you or the dictionary to expand his or her mind. Once again, Ms. Peake deserves a Five Star rating for creating a book easy to read, that encourages healthy fantasy and creates a desire in young readers to learn. Ms. Peake sets aside the harder life lessons her young hero Wiley had to learn in the first novel of this trilogy. This book allows young readers to play and enjoy more along side Wiley and his friends. But that’s not to say those readers still aren’t learning higher standards and values. Where “The Fisherman’s Son” explored the sadder examples we find all too often in adults, “The City of the Golden Sun” gives its young readers the nobler ones: honorable leaders, loving parents, supportive friends and neighbors.