Review by Georgie, aged 11, St Peter’s Catholic School, Solihull
The great phoenix of London is set during the great fire of London in 1666, this made the book interesting because while tackling a series of challenging events 11-year-old Gil is faced with the most important task - he must keep away from the fire. Gil is one of the main characters in this exciting book, but my personal favourite is Gil’s younger cousin Roly as he is one of the key characters (as he found the “glowing rock” we soon find out is a “phoenix egg”). One of my least favourite characters is Qution Culter, who over the book follows Gil around and wants to steal the phoenix.

In this book I have learnt that during the great fire of London they didn’t like there being people on the street or any other street disturbances so he would cruelly put them into grim prisons, crammed all together. The plot was very exciting and very funny as Gil’s newfound pet is always up to no good! However, the plot is also sad as Gil is separated from his beloved family and his father dies at the beginning of the book due to the bubonic plague.

This book stands out to me because it shows that whatever challenges you may face, you should aways try to stay strong and have courage, which Gil has a lot of. I would recommend this book to other children as it can teach you about the events of the Great Fire of London but most importantly it is very funny, exciting and a joy to read. Mostly because of the Phoenix, Gil’s pet.  From this book my vocabulary has expanded for example the word ‘merriment’ was a new word for me. Also, my knowledge on the great fire of London has improved because I didn’t know every beforehand but now, I feel much more knowledgeable for example I learnt all about the King’s actions, key dates and the impact the fire had on the people of London at the time.  I did not dislike anything about this book as I felt it was a heart-warming moment after everything Gil went through, he is reunited with Roly once again.

I would recommend this book fully especially for those that like adventure, comedy and a historical theme. 

Review by Josella, Year 5, The Cathedral School of St Peter and St John
The Great Phoenix of London was an exciting and addictive book. I really enjoyed how exciting it was, although the difficult names made it a bit hard to follow at times. It was set in 1666; it was interesting because it taught me about the past. My favourite character was Gil because he was brave when facing someone much stronger. I didn’t like Gil’s grandfather because he was unnecessarily mean to him. I learned that there was a war and a fire in London during this period. The most exciting part was when they met the king. I would recommend this book because it's both entertaining and educational. I learned words like "kindling," "scaffolding," and "flammable." Overall, I think it’s fantastic and I’d rate it 9.9/10.