Review: Malamander by Thomas Taylor and Tom Booth

978-1-5362-0722-4

$16.99

It’s winter in the town of Eerie-on-Sea, where the mist is thick and the salt spray is rattling the windows of the Grand Nautilus Hotel. Inside, young Herbert Lemon, Lost and Founder for the hotel, has an unexpected visitor. It seems that Violet Parma, a fearless girl around his age, lost her parents at the hotel when she was a baby, and she’s sure that the nervous Herbert is the only person who can help her find them. The trouble is, Violet is being pursued at that moment by a strange hook-handed man. And the town legend of the Malamander — a part-fish, part-human monster whose egg is said to make dreams come true — is rearing its scaly head. As various townspeople, some good-hearted, some nefarious, reveal themselves to be monster hunters on the sly, can Herbert and Violet elude them and discover what happened to Violet’s kin? This lighthearted, fantastical mystery, featuring black-and-white spot illustrations, kicks off a trilogy of fantasies set in the seaside town.

I read this a couple months ago but it took me a while to review it, because my 9yo daughter stole it from me.

I have it (the ARC) back, and I can tell you Sheridan and I both give it a thumbs-up! Herbert and Violet are refreshingly unique characters who are at the same time easy to relate to. Savvy readers may figure out parts of the mystery, but the secondary characters (equally intriguing) will still keep them guessing. While some, such as the blustering hotel manager, lean towards stereotypes, others have more three-dimensional characteristics that will hopefully be expanded upon in future books. Even the Malamander is not quite evil, yet doesn't turn out to be cute and fuzzy either.

My ARC only had a few illustrations ready, but they were vividly drawn and enhanced the writing perfectly.

A promising beginning to a funny and clever trilogy!

Three New Picture Books

978-146-771-1432

 

Stories about pets are usually a sure bet with children, and this is no exception. The little boy telling the story can't understand why his sister loves her guinea pig so much, when there are so many other, much more exciting pets to have! I can't call it a stereotypical conversation, when I see it played out so frequently in my own home. Taylor's illustrations are adorable - I want to reach into the pages and scoop up that adorable little guinea pig, while the dragon, on the other hand, is quite satisfyingly fierce.

 

978-146-771-1418

 

Speaking of adorable...you can't get much cuter than a panda, and here we have two. They live next door to each other, and both would like to be friends, but neither can quite work up the courage to say that first, "Hello!" The rhyme pattern is a bit awkward in places, so I probably wouldn't use this in a story time. I think the gentle encouragement towards making friends will be appreciated, however, by my younger patrons.

 

978-146-771-1555

 

A new Little Princess story! The LP is VERY big at our house, and she had her very own story time here at the library a few months ago. Her other titles all start with "I Want", a fact not unnoticed by commiserating mommies: now, we have the opposite.

 

The Little Princess has a lump in her nose, and while the General offers to get take care of it with his sword, the Doctor (who is always covered in spots), decides the hospital would be a better bet. The Little Princess does not want to go, but is eventually carted off...er...tied to her stroller. She recovers there quite nicely, and has so much fun, she decides her tonsils need to come out as well! It is never quite explained what the lump in her nose is, but I can't help thinking this seems a bit familiar.

 

Thank-you to Andersen Press for the review copies!