• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
H. Halverstadt Books

H. Halverstadt Books

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About HHB
    • Authors
    • Readers
  • My Books
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Resources
  • Contact Us

Operation Big Top – Mark Andrew Poe

August 10, 2018 by H. Halverstadt
Four 1/2 Stars

 

Harry Moon lives in Sleepy Hollow, a town where it’s always Halloween. Harry can do magic- real magic- and when the circus comes to town, he goes off to the Big Top to ask the ringmaster if he can be part of the act. After his interview ends, Harry discovers two young kids on the carnival grounds. They tell him that they are fine, but Harry can’t shake the feeling that they need his help. Harry and his friends set out to find the truth, avoid the machinations of Harry’s sister Honey, and run into unexpected surprises along the way.

This book is not explicitly Christian, but the author does seem to operate from a believing worldview. Harry makes mention several times of the Deep Magic, which seems to be a reference to C.S. Lewis’ Narnia, and Harry mentions several times how conscious he is of using magic for good and not evil.

..harry mentions several times how conscious he is of using magic for good and not evil.

There were a few things that I would have preferred to be done differently. Harry and his friends were, I thought, too quick to use sneaking out after bedtime as an investigative tool. Harry was disciplined for it, but it seemed to me to be unnecessary in the first place. I thought that one character, Frank, had loads of potential that was not realized, and…more pictures would have been nice.

…harry moon meets a big need in children’s fiction- a chapter book for boys that is not about fighting.

Overall, I thought Harry Moon meets a big need in children’s fiction- a chapter book for boys that is not about fighting. There is so much violence in books for boys, and many of them are expressly written to introduce boys to gaming. I look forward to seeing Harry Moon in libraries everywhere!

Content Ratings:

Heat: None

Profanity: None.

Violence: None. There is some hiding and running away, but no actual violence happens.

Genre: Children’s fantasy

Age recommendation: Any child old enough to read a chapter book that has a picture or two per chapter rather than on every page.

Available on Amazon in hardcover. Not available in ebook format.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book when I volunteered to review a book for the 2018 Realm Awards.

Category: Blog, Clean Children's Books, Clean Fantasy

About H. Halverstadt

Once tasked with mapping our world, H. Halverstadt now forges her own with the help of her engineer husband. She has a degree in Geographic Information Systems, but her favorite way to use it is writing clean, far-future, multi world science fiction filled with adventure, mystery and intrigue. Her first flash fiction story, Toby’s Call, was published in Havok Magazine, and her website was featured in the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Bulletin. Gemini’s Key is her first novel. You can follow her at her author website and book review page, www.hhalverstadtbooks.com. She also has a novelette called Tumult’s Edge that is free to her newsletter subscribers and also is available for purchase on Amazon.

Previous Post:When is Horror Too Much?
Next Post:Thanos Offered Fake Love

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Enhanced – The Hybrid Series, Book 1 (Candace Kade)
  • Song of the Selkies (Sarah Pennington)
  • Dustsong: Len the Wanderer – Tales of the Vaporous Realms – M.B. Heywood
  • Infernal Fall (Bryan Mitchell)
  • The Sea People (Diane Detzer)

Recent Comments

  • H. Halverstadt on About H. Halverstadt Books
  • Anna Goble on About H. Halverstadt Books
  • H. Halverstadt on Writer FAQ
  • Marc Secchia on Writer FAQ

My Books

Gemini’s Key

Buy This Book Online
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Amazon Kindle
Buy from Apple Books
Buy from Kobo
Gemini’s Key
Buy now!
Gemini’s Key

Toby’s Call

Toby’s Call

Tumult’s Edge

Tumult’s Edge

Articles

  • Should Christian readers be concerned about pirated or counterfeit books?
  • No, HBO Isn’t Porn – and That’s Part of the Problem
  • A Response To The Closing of Lifeway Stores
  • Are Christian Movies Really So Terrible?

About HHB

  • Meet Our Reviewers
  • Our Clean Sci-Fi and Fantasy Summer Giveaway!
  • Win All Three of Lauren Salisbury’s E-books by Subscribing to Our Newsletter!
Request A Press Kit
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Link
  • Link

Review Categories

Audiobooks
Holiday
Clean Science Fiction
Clean Science Fantasy
Clean Paranormal
Clean Steampunk
Clean Superhero
Clean Adult Fiction
Clean Young Adult
Clean Middle Grade
Clean Children’ Books

Copyright © 2025 H. Halverstadt Books · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Website by Stormhill Media