The Key To Rondo by Emily Rodda

Who would have thought that the key to adventure would lie within an antique music box?  Leo certainly didn't, although he did think that the strict rules on using it were a bit odd:  you could only turn the knob 3 turns, you must never close it before it finishes it's song, and you should certainly never move it while the music plays.

However, when his cousin Mimi, whom Leo cannot stand, comes to stay with them, the two encounter the first hints that they may not know the whole story of the music box.  Mimi turns the knob 4 times, and releases a magical hold on a vibrant other world.  Leo and Mimi are then sucked into the world of Rondo, a place where Mimi seems to belong and Leo wishes he weren't.  The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda (Lexile: 710; Interest Level: Grades 3-7) is an adventure as the reader follows Leo and Mimi through a town filled with Dots, a forest with Flitters, and faces a mean Duck who hunts them, a pig who wants to help them, and various other characters whom you may recognize from beloved children's stories. (352 p.)

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