“It even said on page two of the very first book — animals always came to him.”

That’s David, catching that Christopher’s biggest moment was set up from the very start of the series.

This week we reach the climax of The Neverfear, book three of Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures series: a lawless race on a wild, golden-antlered hind, Nighthand’s impossible choice between duty and love, and Christopher rallying a whole island of animals for the Battle of Glimt — ending on our biggest cliffhanger yet. Christopher, alone, with the tiger.

A note for families: this series doesn’t shy away from intense moments and difficult themes. We explore them together and keep the grim details light — and we trust each reading pair to decide whether it’s the right fit.

📖 This week: pages 222–271 (“A Snake for a Starting Line” – “Sculptures That Bite”)
📖 Next week — the finale: pages 272–311 (“Anya’s Fight” – “The Wedding”)

This week’s question: Astor Morax wants the immortal alive — what do you think he wants him for? Tell us your theories before the finale: write or comment at hello@ourbookbench.com or @ourbookbench.

Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, so every episode lands in your feed.

📚 Join the adventure at ourbookbench.com
💌 Email us at hello@ourbookbench.com
📷 Follow along on Instagram: @ourbookbench

“He doesn’t fear anything — so he can’t fear what other people think of him.”

That’s David commenting on Nighthand — the fearless berserker who, in the middle of a life-or-death quest, stops to write Irian the most wonderfully honest love poems you’ve ever read (“My love is like a red, red rose… thorny, and attractive to bees and other pollinators”).

This week on Our Book Bench we’re reading pages 180–221 of The Neverfear, book three of Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures series — and it may be our most intense section yet. In the orchard of the Hesperides, the kids finally outwit the ever-hungry snake… and then it all goes wrong: Anya is bitten, the golden tree catches fire, and Christopher has one second to choose between the apple they came for and his friend’s life. He chooses Anya — and they fail.

What comes next is the heart of the episode. Back on the Neverfear, a devastated Christopher gets a lesson from Ratwin about how Nighthand rebuilds the ship stronger every time it’s broken — and how the same is true of people. (We wander into kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold, along the way.) Then Anya remembers that Hercules picked three golden apples — so the hunt turns toward a lawless, high-stakes Race of Thieves and a wild, golden-antlered creature called a hind. David also catches something lovely: Christopher doesn’t get sick from the golden thread anymore — he’s learning to stay grounded.

A note for families: this is a rich, beautiful series that doesn’t shy away from intense moments and difficult themes. We explore them together and keep the grim details light — and we trust each reading pair to decide whether this book, and this series, is the right fit for them.

This week’s reading: pages 180–221 (“The Garden is a Trap” through “I Could Bite Them”).
Next week’s reading: pages 222–271 (“A Snake for a Starting Line” through “Sculptures That Bite”).

This week’s question for you: Nighthand writes love poems that are sweet and hilariously honest — “a red, red rose… (thorny, and attractive to bees).” Write us a two-line poem about something you love, honest parts included.

Email hello@ourbookbench.com or find us on Instagram @ourbookbench — we read every one.

Enjoying the season? Follow Our Book Bench on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so every new episode lands in your feed — it’s the easiest way to keep reading along with us, and it helps other families find the bench.

📚 Join the adventure at ourbookbench.com
💌 Email us at hello@ourbookbench.com
📷 Follow along on Instagram: @ourbookbench

“It’s kind of sad, her backstory — even though she’s evil, and she let it define her.”

That’s David, reacting to the reveal we’ve been waiting for all season: who is Carla, and what is her history with Nighthand?

This week on Our Book Bench, we’re reading pages 136–179 of The Neverfear, the third book in Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures series — and it may be our most adventurous section yet. Anya challenges the pirate Vigo Nex to a duel for the belt of Hippolyta (with Jacques boldly offering himself up as the stake), and when her blades burst into fire, she beats a berserker twice her size — then says the line that may define her whole journey: “What if I was born to be brave?”

Meanwhile, a tiger watches the children through their own mirrors, Nighthand loses a battle with baby Teren and a diaper, Ratwin makes a quiet and costly sacrifice, and the kids reach the orchard of the Hesperides — a maze of magical apples guarded by a snake they trap with, of all things, Anya’s petticoat. We also sit with Carla’s heartbreak, and why a villain’s sad past doesn’t excuse her choices but does make her human — one of our favorite conversations yet.

A note for families: this is a rich, beautiful series that doesn’t shy away from intense moments and difficult themes. We explore them together and keep the grim details light — and we trust each reading pair to decide whether this book, and this series, is the right fit for them.

This week’s reading: pages 136–179 (“Fire Blades” through “Apples to Apples, Dust to Dust”).
Next week’s reading: pages 180–221 (“The Garden is a Trap” through “I Could Bite Them”).

This week’s question for you: The orchard is full of magical apples — one makes bubbles, one turns to stone, one tastes like your favorite thing ever. If you could invent a magical apple, what would it do?

Email hello@ourbookbench.com or find us on Instagram @ourbookbench — we read every one.

Enjoying the season? Follow Our Book Bench on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so every new episode lands in your feed — it’s the easiest way to keep reading along with us, and it helps other families find the bench.

📚 Join the adventure at ourbookbench.com
💌 Email us at hello@ourbookbench.com
📷 Follow along on Instagram: @ourbookbench