The Underlibrary seems more and more unreachable as Melville Underwood and his sister Decima add further restrictions on Bookwandering. Armed only with a random-seeming collection of clues to use as a map to their whereabouts, Tilly and Oskar are searching for the Archivists. Tilly is convinced that they the only ones who can help in the fight against the Underwoods.
Strange things are happening everywhere as fewer people are buying books and people forget what they were doing and why they were there.
The journey takes them through stories within stories within stories and on to a train which runs on imagination, travelling through pure story and going round plot twists. I love the part where they can choose from a menu of delicious treats from books. I wouldn't mind a gin cocktail from The Great Gatsby or afternoon tea from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
I would now really love to visit the Library of Congress in Washington, it sounds wonderful, and which book lover wouldn't want to go to the Library of Alexandria???
I felt so invested in the story that a couple of parts made me actually gasp out loud! This is definitely the best one yet. I sincerely hope there will be more from Tilly and Oskar.

Tilly and Oskar face the toughest challenge yet as they must work with friends - old and new - to save bookwandering for everybody? But can they do it in time?

I love the world Anna James has built up in the Pages and Co series. This book definitely upped the ante more, with Tilly and Oskar risking more and I definitely felt the urgency building. I still adore Tilly even if Oskar might be my fave, I always want him to have more page time. I did love Tilly's development as she came to understand more about her own status.

I would absolutely recommend this book for people who enjoyed the first two books but also anybody who wants a good action adventure story with heart.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Enjoyable and whimsical. I love the bookwandering concept, and the characters are delightful, but I found the plot in Tilly and the Map of Stories a little bit too thin. There are some lovely imaginative elements, like the Sesquipedalian, that intrigued me.

The villains were a little too cartoon like for menace, but this is an engaging book.

‘Tilly and the Map of Stories’ is the third book in the Pages and Co. series that follows Tilly, Oskar and others as they adventure into books by bookwandering.

I absolutely adore this series and feel like it is one of my favourite children’s series. This series is so heart-warming and I can see myself going back to these books whenever I need a light-hearted feel-good book.
I love how much this series celebrates books and reading overall. In particular, this book really emphasised the importance of reading and how books can affect us and how books we have read and loved can become so special to us throughout our lives.

I love all the characters in this series and I loved how this book introduced us to some new characters, for example Milo, Orlando and William Shakespeare (whose character I particularly loved). The friendship between Tilly and Oskar is such an important part of the series and I loved seeing them go on these adventures together and always relying on each other no matter what the situation.

Overall, this book/series is one that I highly recommend to anyone. It is full of adventure, friendships and books.

The third magical bookwandering adventure in the nationally bestselling Pages & Co. series, featuring Tilly Pages as she journeys to Washington, D.C., to wander inside the books at the Library of Congress. Tilly and Oskar embark on an impromptu trip to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, in search of an elusive group of bookwanderers called the Archivists, who they believe are the key to restoring the balance and saving the British Underlibrary. Along the way, the friends realize that something strange is happening in the world of bookwandering: books are disappearing, people are forgetting their favourite stories, and stories are trying to drag Tilly into them. With a mysterious set of clues and some surprising new faces, Tilly and Oskar will need the help of some of their dearest fictional friends to be able to solve the mystery...and save bookwandering forever.

This is an enchanting and magical return to the world of the delightful bookwanderers as they fight against bookish enemies. The series reminds us of the power of the written word and of stories to uplift and provide escapism from the everyday world. The plot moves at a quick pace and the world-building is simply exquisite. Anna James illustrates that through belief you can achieve anything; a positive and uplifting message that very much resonated with me. Encouraging youngsters to read, these epic adventures whisk you away with characters that are relatable with Tilly being a great protagonist. The vivid descriptions of the places they visited were perhaps my favourite part of the book as they are immersive enough that you can transport yourself there in an instant. A simply charming addition to the series. Many thanks to HarperCollins Children's for an ARC.

As a series, Pages and Co. really encourages a love of books and the magic of reading and Book 3, Tilly and the Map of Stories is no different! Fast-paced and really good fun, I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters are intelligent without them feeling like they are older than they are, keeping them relatable for the children reading them.

Matilda Pages and her friend Oskar are off on another adventure and this time they go transatlantic in their search for the legendary Archivists.
Sent to America by her grandparents at Pages and Co. Tilly and Oskar seek the help of fictional friends and fellow bookwanderers in order to save bookwandering forever.
Adventures into history, through paper forests and on a train lead lead them on their journey, can they finally defeat the Underwoods?
This is the third in the Pages and Co. series but it could definately be read as a standalone also.
I love the design of these books with the scattering of illustrations throughout and words falling down the page to emphasise the content of the stories. Another beautiful book from Anna James, already looking forward to Pages4!

Pages & Co. Tilly and the Map of Stories is the delightful third instalment in Anna James’ Pages & Co. series perfect for lovers of classics and for fans of the series Night At The Museum and TV show Once Upon A Time.

Following on from Tilly & the Lost Fairytales, Matilda ‘Tilly’ Pages believes the answer to saving British bookwandering is to find the Archivists; a long lost - believed to be mythical - institution that Tilly believes will put all wrongs right and help save the day. What transpires is a Biblio Baggins level “I’m off on an adventure!” tale full of bookwandering, transatlantic travels, clandestine train rides and forging new friendships that is truly unforgettable.

*starts playing ‘Pure Imagination’ from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory*

A world of pure imagination is right. Tilly and the Map of Stories stepped up and delivered! This was an action packed story from beginning to end (we’re talking a brewing sense of danger from the offset to being action packed down to the very last page!)

I found this story to be the most immersive, imaginative and exhilarating Pages & Co. yet. It just delivered so much in all ways. Brilliant characters, brilliant story, brilliant imagery, brilliant pace... the pace never faltered - not once. I am so blown away that I’m practically speechless at 2.30am whilst I try and put my awe into words to write a worthy review of justice.

By this point, James has developed the world of Pages & Co. so thoroughly I believe these characters are real. I love them whole heartedly. Tilly and Oskar go from strength to strength, especially Oskar. I really felt Oskar had more time to shine this time - both in his comical commentary and his cruciality to the plot development. The two together are like a mini Sherlock & Watson in the making as they find ways to solve their problems and get into more and more mischief.

There’s an array of new characters to get to know, like American bookwanders and bookshop owners Orlando and Jorge, and bookbroker Horatio and his nephew Milo. All of the new characters contributed to the plot and were enjoyable to read.

The plot events and imagery were thrilling. On our mission to find the Archivists, we voyage to the Library of Congress, face a haunting bookish wasteland and ride on the daring Sesquipedalian. All of this, combined with great characters, made this an entertaining page-turner. Also, it’ll never fail to amaze me how much James conveys love and appreciation for other stories in her stories. From Shakespeare’s work to Anne of Green Gables… I can’t praise it enough.

The climax of this book was so fun and intense. It’s grand and edge-of-your-seat gripping. Genuinely, I kept looking at my kindle’s percentage like it was the countdown of a bomb because I was terrified of how it was all going to end, especially if it was going to be a cliffhanger. The last time I was as tense as this was in my cinema seat for Avengers Endgame, so that should tell you how invested I was in this book and its ending.

The way James has expanded the world of bookwandering in this instalment is so clever and exciting because anything feels possible. I suppose it always was, but from this story’s events, it’s just on another level. The layered imagination and attention pulls everything that’s happened across all three books so far to pull off a satisfying full circle tale whilst simultaneously establishing a limitless potential and this reader’s extreme desire to keep Tilly’s adventures going.

And as always, James has cast the Hansel & Gretel breadcrumbs for the next Tilly adventure - it was confirmed earlier this year there would be at least another three instalments (which I’m so, so, so excited about).

Tilly and the Map of Stories has been my favourite Pages & Co. instalment yet. I felt like I’d been travelling with friends for days on an epic adventure by the books end. I loved everything – absolutely everything – in this book and I recommend it tenfold. It’s full to the brim with magic and wonder and nothing less than a masterpiece. When you’re finished reading Pages & Co., your heart will be alight, full of joy and you might truly feel and believe in book magic – I know I do. Don't miss it!

In the bookshop of Pages and Co strange things are beginning to happen that seem trivial at first but then start to point towards something much more important and dangerous happening.
This involves"villains" from the previous book, but it also goes much deeper than this. There is a real sense of danger and a darker side to the book wandering world.

Maybe the fabled Archivists have the answer? Bea arranges for Tilly and Oskar to go to America and try to find the Archivists . The plot involves a magical adventure , a train journey of an unusual kind and Tilly having to use a deep understanding of what book Magic really is. Along the way we meet two characters from books who might be able to help.
Once again Anna James has produced a highly imaginative fantasy adventure which all Pages and Co Fans will love, with the subtext of the power of books and stories maybe being even more important to readers now.

I liked the train and the paper forest but would have liked more book wandering but the plot might have slowed if this had been there.
The first book has been compared to hot chocolate, but in this 3rd book there is a new and puzzling taste.

Having adored Books 1 and 2, I jumped at the chance to revisit the magical world of Pages & Co and this book did NOT disappoint. It has that same gorgeously classic feel and is packed with all the intrigue and wonder of the first two books. Adventure, mystery, magic, BOOKWANDERING (what a concept!), beautiful family relationships, fierce friendships, and dastardly villains! - this is a series I'm waiting for someone to bring to the screen! How incredible would that be?

Tilly and Oskar set out on yet another epic quest. They have a clear mission in mind, but as things turn out they need to be prepared to change direction, bend some rules and call upon friends old and new.

This third book is another celebration of all that is good about the world of books and stories and those that inhabit it, whether fictional character, librarians, readers, bookseller etc. Read it, you will not regret it.

This is the 3rd installment of Tilly and Oskar's bookwandering adventures and on my opinion it is the best yet. An absolute delight to read. Its aimed at children aged. 8+ but anyone could enjoy it. I would particularly recommend it for fellow bookworms. This book is beautiful and important.
I received an ebook version of this book for Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Being a bookwander sounds like so much fun unless you are Tilly and Oskar and the focus of an evil plot to control the magic of books. Brave and bold, Tilly is determined to find the mysterious archivists who she is sure will help her defeat the vile Underwoods and save bookwandering forever. But just like in any adventure book, plans never seem to go smoothly.

This series is perfect for us book lovers who dream of stepping into the worlds that win over our hearts & minds. Who wouldn’t want to travel into a book, to spend time with characters who we love and admire? But would you revel in the experience like Tilly & her friends or would want to control and obliterate it like the Underwoods?

I’m a huge fan on this series and was excited to read an early copy before it was published as not only do I love the concept of bookwandering but I find the references to literature, libraries and bookshops to be enchanting. You can tell that the author has a deep love of reading, she’s my kind of person! The design of the book is also a work of art, the style works so well with the nature of the story. The creative ways in which the font of the texts changes to the charming illustrations that are scattered throughout the novel bring another level into the reading experience. I can’t wait to buy a copy to add the others on my bookshelf. The Pages & Co books should be treasured and reread for generations.

The third book in the Pages & Co series is a magnificent celebration of the magic of stories and an ode to the bookshops, libraries and imaginations from which they are dispensed. The love of story erupts from this novel and inflames your heart with a desire to revisit old favourites and examine their links to the newly published. Combining 21st century London tweens with a fantasy plot that includes encounters with the Great Library of Alexandria, the Library of Congress and a jaded William Shakespeare, this book takes you on an enchanted journey through literature!

Tilly and the Map of Stories begins exactly where book two, Tilly and the Lost Fairy Tales ended, with the scheming Underwood twins, Melville and Decima, continuing their dictatorial reign at the British Underlibrary; pursuing their own ends whilst deceiving their followers that they are working for the benefit of all. They have begun binding the source editions of books to prevent book wandering in them...but only a small minority of independent thinkers have the courage to question why. These dissenters of course include Archibald and Elizabeth Pages (Tilly’s grandparents), her mother Bea and a group of their close friends.

I have loved this series from the moment I began reading about Tilly and her grandparents’ bookshop Pages & Co in book one. The idea of being able to wander into the pages of favourite books and share afternoon tea with Lizzie Bennet enraptured me. The addition of librarian in-jokes about cardigans and the Dewey Decimal System just made it all the more engaging. Now with this installment, author Anna James takes us on a metaphysical adventure into the heart of Story itself, conjuring an immersive literary world in which Tilly and her best friend Oskar have to delve right to the origins of Story in their attempt to thwart the plans of the Underwoods. It opens with a customer in the bookshop finding himself unable to remember anything about the book which he intended to purchase and this grasping for memories of books is repeated with other characters. Relying on Tilly’s instinct that the curious assortment of objects she has gathered during her previous adventures are clues to the whereabouts of the legendary Archivists who guard the bookwandering world, her mother Bea despatches Tilly and Oskar to Washington DC to track them down.

I really do not want to go into too much description of the plot because it unfurls so perfectly that I cannot bear to ruin your enjoyment. The labyrinthine quest leads our heroes and thus the reader into the chain of stories where it seems only natural that after travelling on a train constructed of an eclectic mix of carriages, aptly named the Sesquipedalian, you might encounter Shakespeare arguing with Scott Fitzgerald!

Tilly and Oskar are two wonderful protagonists whose relationship has developed over the series to an acceptance of each other’s moods and almost telepathic understanding of each other’s reactions at crisis points in the narrative. Their friendship and partnership drives the narrative on as they seek the truth of the Underwoods’ abuse of book magic. As always, Tilly’s grandparents demonstrate steely determination to stand up against wrong-doing and in this novel Tilly’s mother Bea has snapped out of her dreamlike state and takes agency too. The locations, real, historical and imaginary are brought splendidly into focus by Paola Escobar’s wondrous illustrations; I would love to spend many hours browsing Orlando’s bookstore Shakespeare’s Sisters situated in a former theatre! I also love the use of typography techniques to throw the reader off-balance at times in the story.

It is obvious that I adore Tilly and the Map of Stories and I think it is a book that many adults will relish reading to their own children or to a class of children. Confident readers of 10+ will love immersing themselves in the adventure on which Tilly and Oskar embark and hopefully will engage with some of the philosophical themes: the importance of imagination and collective memory, the need to share stories for the benefit of all and the necessity to question authority when it designs rules that only enhance the experience of a few.

I am most grateful to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children’s Books for allowing me access to an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I will certainly be purchasing a physical copy as soon as the book is published later this month as this is one of my MG highlights of the year so far.

Anna James’ series of ‘Pages & Co’ continues with this equally fabulous book! Tilly and the Map of Stories takes the reader through books, twists, turns and a train ride! I thoroughly enjoyed the exploring of historic settings. There are characters in the book from history that are western well, sounding as I would expect them too! This could be read as a stand-alone book, but the series is so engaging, why would you?

TILLY AND THE MAP OF STORIES follows on TILLY AND THE LOST FAIRY TALES with a clear villain. Unlike previous entries that take a while to establish the villain, and instead focus on the problem first, this book dives right in. There is a problem upsetting Tilly's world, but it's a background issue at first as the villains make their first move. This allows for a very quick start, catalysing her adventure and giving her personal stakes throughout.

As the final book in the trilogy, the stakes are high and the world of Bookwandering is under threat. The Underlibrary is forbidding people from entering stories, and books themselves are dying. Anna James couldn't have picked a more terrifying prospect for Tilly to fight - stories are vanishing from the world and causing heartbreak to readers who can't remember them any more. It's an awful threat, and it made me root for Tilly all the more.

This book contains Shakespeare! I am a complete Shakespeare so of course I adored the fact that this book dives into a play. The chosen play is <em>A Midsummer's Night Dream</em>. It's not my favourite play, but it is the most popular and widest known (hence why it's not my favourite - seen it too many times!). This popularity, though is what makes it the obvious choice - to maximise the chances of readers knowing the story so they can appreciate how the characters and moments are used in the story.

But that's not all the Shakespeare in this book. However, I won't spoil the other Shakespeare surprise because it's SOOOO good.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harper Collins Fiction for sending me an E-ARC of this wonderful book. I am so grateful for the opportunity.

It is no secret that the Pages & Co series is one of my absolute favourites. I will literally recommend this series to anybody that will listen, and actively promote that if I am lucky enough to have my whole children this is something that I will be introducing to them. I just feel so warm inside every time I am reading one of the books in this series. I absolutely love going on an adventure with Tilly and Oskar. If I could be a bookwanderer I would certainly choose one of these wonderful books. In fact, I would choose Tilly and the Map of Stories as it is my favourite one yet.

I can't write a review for this book without talking about the characters. I just love the characters so so much! Tilly is just so lovable but I also feel like she is such a good role model for the target audience of this book. I mean the following quote just confirms she is my kind of gal:

"Although I see you're a corner-folder. Just as I was starting to like you."

Dog-earring kind of people are also not my kind of people Tilly, lets me friends please? Also a special mention too Oskar. I really feel like he came out of his shell in this book. Has he always been this funny? Honestly I found myself laughing out loud at some of the things he was coming out with. He's hilarious. "Bottom" if you have read this book you will know what I mean. I am not going to mention book character names that appear in this book as I want it to be a surprise for everyone who reads this book, however one particular character really got me in the feels. I loved him so much and just wanted more and more from him.

ALSO, the quip. I love the quip so much and I want to have a go immediately. The concept that imagination is magic is just absolutely wonderful. I especially like the food that it serves, if someone could get me some chocolate cake from Matilda then I would really appreciate it. I just love this kind of theme that is prevalent in all Pages & Co books, especially this one. Anna James has a unique way of gathering everybody favourite childhood stories and combining them into another story. I feel like this is such a smart way, to not only appeal to the target audience but also their parents who no doubt read these books when they were children themselves.

I loved the ending of this book so much but as always it left me wanting more. Not that anything was missing I just loved it that much that I didn't want to stop reading. If you haven't picked up this series then please do, it is absolutely fantastic and one that I will recommend to everyone that will listen. Tilly and the Map of Stories will be released on 17th September in the UK.

This is the 3rd Bookwanderers books that I have read and I wasn't disappointed. You can be confident that this book is going to bring warmth and comfort. For me it's a bit simplistic compared to some of the other Middle Grade books that I've read this year. Some of the solutions to problems that the characters were facing seemed to be too easily fixed for me. However, children will love this book and I look forward to when my little girl is a little bit older so that we can share this series together. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, fast-paced read that was a mostly satisfying conclusion to the first trilogy of books set in the Pages and Co. world. whilst also setting up the possibility for many more adventures (the author has confirmed that there will be 3 more books.) In this story, the villains from the previous book continue to threaten the future of bookwandering and Tilly is in more danger than ever. She is convinced that finding the archivists is the only way to solve their problems. However, no-one has heard from the archivists for many years. Do they even still exist? With a strange collection of objects that she hopes might be clues, Tilly and Oskar set off on an adventure to find the archivists and save bookwandering.

As with the previous books in this series, the things that I like best are the vivid descriptions of the different lands the characters travel to and the way the author writes the 'book characters' that we meet. The vocabulary choices and similes used create such clear pictures in my head of what the characters could see and I would often pause and reread a passage of description just to enjoy it again. We meet some new 'book characters' in this story and I enjoyed guessing who they were from the clues before their names were revealed.

Some things that I didn't enjoy as much were the dialogue between characters. While Tilly and Oskar's conversations when they are on their own feel more natural, I still don't think there's enough difference between the child and adult characters when they have conversations with each other which makes them feel unrealistic to me. Another disappoinment is that there's not actually a lot of bookwandering in this book (which was something I really enjoyed in the first one). Without spoiling the story, there's a lot of time spent in magical places, but not much of it is inside books that we all know and love. This is a shame as one of the highlights of previous books has been seeing Tilly and Oskar visit well-known story book worlds and interact with famous characters in these settings.

Overall, if you have read and enjoyed the first two books, then I would definitely recommend that you read this book and find out how this arc of the story concludes.

I loved this! I haven't read the first two in the series but now I can't wait to be able to get them!


This is a brilliant book, perfect for age 8+. We are sucked into the book wandering world with some familiar faces from well-known stories and authors from history. I would have loved these books as a kid and now I can't wait to recommend it to my students that I know would enjoy it!


Fast paced, interesting and fun!