Hildaland Puzzle

Answer all the clues, then write down the first letter of each one to spell out the name of someone who lives in Hildaland.

I live in a rock pool. I have pincers and a shell ----
I have eight legs with suckers on -------
You might build this out of sand on the beach ------
You can fly this in the air when it is windy ----
I have a shell that clings to the rocks ------
I am a kind of fish. I am long and thin ---
You can walk along this at the seaside ----
Cocklepuss can swim here ----------
There is lots of this on the beach ----
An animal used to live in this. You might find it on the beach -----

A Magical Island

‘Stranger things’ve been seen lad, out yonder,’ said Pordy, pointing out to sea and pretending to be offended. ‘Never heard of The Disappearing Island?’

‘What’s that?’ we all said together. It sounded magical.

‘Just what it says - a disappearing island, all made of mist. Floats on the water like a great big cloud. Only appears every hundred years.’

We all popped our eyes and looked suitably impressed.

‘Does anybody live there?’ asked Plum, a bit nervously.

‘Naybody knows lad,’ said Old Plum, in a hollow voice. ‘But they do say as folk ‘ave vanished.’

When Rosie gets captured by the Finmen and taken to Hildaland she finds out that the island is every bit as magical and mysterious as it sounded. Strange creatures like Cocklepuss live there, and the cursed, gloomy Finmen...

Find out more in The Island That Wasn't There .

Found Things

It's fun when you are out and about to keep your eyes open for unusual things. Like this very strange shark's fin of ice that I found in the birds' drinking water in my garden last winter!

When Rosie wants to join the Harbour Gang she has to pass a test. She has to find something on the shore that No Man Has Found Before. This is harder than you might think - try it next time you go for a walk. It doesn't have to be on the sea shore - anywhere will do, town or country.

Rosie begins to think she will never manage it. But in the end she finds something most unusual. Something that proves to the boys what an incredible adventure she has had. You can find out what it is in The Island That Wasn't There.

Watch out - the Finmen are coming!

The men all had long faces, solemn and grey-green like the sea, and lined with sorrow. ..Their eyes, when they got close enough for us to see, were pale and watery, like looking into cold rock pools. And their hands...their horrid hands were webbed and fishy looking, with blue veins and white at the knuckles where each grasped his long wooden oar.

Got the creeps?
Need to know more?
You can find out all about the Finmen in The Island That Wasn't There.

Who is Yan Eye?

We were all scared of him. Even the boys were. He only had one eye and it always seemed to look right at you like a shark about to eat you....
When he spoke, which wasn’t often, his voice was soft with a strange lilt to it that wasn’t like the way folk speak round here. But nobody knew where he had come from. It was a mystery.

So who is he?
Why is he living in Rosie's seaside town?
And how did he lose that eye?

Want to know more?
You can read all about Yan Eye in The Island That Wasn't There

Burble burble...

Cocklepuss is happy today. He has found some prawns to eat!

We gave Cocklepuss a quiz to do:

Cocklepuss likes:

• swimming
• doing magic
• showing visitors around Hildaland

He hates:

• dogfish
• litter
• oil slicks

His favourite foods are:

• prawns
• limpets
• sardines
  

His favourite colour is:

• aquamarine

He is scared of:

• pirates
• sharks
• giant squids

Why not try this quiz on your friends!

Time for Some Magic!

This is Cocklepuss. He is a magical catfish from the island of Hildaland. He is not a pet cat - he only belongs to himself and he likes to roam around the island and find cosy places to sleep in the houses of the Finmen who live on Hildaland.

Cocklepuss is ready and waiting. He wants a new adventure!
You can read all about his first adventure in The Island That Wasn't There.

Where would you like to go for an adventure?
I would like to go to Hildaland and meet Cocklepuss, wouldn't you?