Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 5^-8. Overwhelmed by the responsibility of caring for some very exotic creatures, three elderly sisters come to a big decision: they must kidnap some children to help them with their work. The sisters travel to England and return with three children, two of whom are quite glad to be out of their unhappy normal lives, and one whose presence is really a mistake. Ibbotson uses familiar creatures, such as mermaids and selkies, and gives them extended families--for instance, a mermaid grandmother and a mermaid baby. At once funny and poignant, the story is a fascinating tapestry comprising vivid human characters, powerfully imagined magical creatures, and an engrossing plot, which Ibbotson has put together with wry British humor reminiscent of Hilary McKay's The Exiles (1992). --Susan Dove Lempke
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Three aging aunts who need help caring for their magical animals resort to kidnapping suitable candidates. PW wrote, "The author's exquisite sense of humor plus an imaginative and memorable cast of characters make this a rollicking escapade." Ages 8-12. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-It isn't easy taking care of an entire island and its needy, sometimes magical inhabitants and visitors, so the caregivers, Aunts Myrtle, Etta, and Coral, decide to kidnap three children from London to help them with such tasks as cleaning mermaids who were caught in an oil slick and coaxing an egg-bound boobrie to lay its enormous eggs. Two of the children, Fabio and Minette, turn out to be enthusiastic workers who grow to love the island and their charges, but Lambert Sprott is a cell-phone-addicted brat. In fact, it is Lambert's nefarious father who, in rescuing his son, makes a near-successful attempt to exploit the isle's magical creatures for his own gain. The tone of this book is as no-nonsense as stern but kind Aunt Etta. No mercy is shown to self-obsessed, environment-polluting grown-ups and nasty, ill-behaved children, but sanctimony is held at bay by the dry humor that permeates the story. The plunder of the sanctuary by Mr. Sprott and his crew is filled with scenes of real menace and suspense-readers will not be able to put the book down until they know for sure that all the island's inhabitants are safe and sound. The 14 black-and-white illustrations add quiet charm and humor. A fine choice for fantasy lovers, especially fans of E. Nesbit, Edward Eager, and Jane Langton.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Kidnapped by three kind but eccentric women who live on an uncharted island, Minette and Fabio realize that they actually prefer their new lives and enjoy participating in the elderly sisters' efforts to rescue creatures in distress. The third kidnapped child is a spoiled brat, and his efforts to contact his father put everyone on the island in grave danger. A humorous and imaginative (if far-fetched) fantasy with an unusual ecological bent. From HORN BOOK Spring 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A mischarted island becomes a refuge for injured sea creaturesincluding a few mythical onesin this now-poignant, now-farcical adventure from the author of The Secret of Platform 13 (1998). After decades of tending to oil-covered sea birds, traumatized mermaids, the occasional stoorworm (a wingless dragon) or elephant-sized boobrie bird, the three unmarried Harper sisters feel old age creeping up: so off they hie to spirit away three children to train as successors. They return with 10-year-old Minette, who has spent much of her life unhappily shuttling between extremely divorced parents, Brazilian-born Fabio, who is being forced into the mold of a young British gentleman at dreary Greymarsh Towers boarding school, and Lambert Sprott, spoiled scion of predatory entrepreneur Stanley Sprott. Minette and Fabio quickly fall in love with the island and its inhabitants, particularly after the mountain-sized Kraken, the oceans mighty protector, wakes from a 100-year sleep and drops off his new son before beginning a world-spanning patrol. Lambert, however, a real chip off the old block, gives the game away as soon as he finds his cell phone. Enter Stanley, both to rescue his son and, dazzled by visions of a lucrative sideshow, to seize the islands less common residents just before the police arrive. Ibbotsons cast is made up largely of types and adult caricatures, but briskly stirring in oodles of complications, she brings the plot to a boil that climaxes with the enraged Kraken charging in to rescue his son on one side, and the Aunts caught in a sensational public trial for kidnapping on the other. The author dishes up a satisfying romp flavored with strong sympathy for those who care for the natural world rather than exploit it. Like her previous books, this will ride high on Others Like Harry Potter lists for its style of humor, sturdy young protagonists, and array of fantastical beings. (Fiction. 11-13)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
