Once upon a Tim

Review by Booklist Review

Tim and his friend Belinda (disguised as a boy), two peasants during the Middle Ages, seize an opportunity to become knights by accompanying a cowardly prince and his ineffectual wizard on an expedition to save a princess from the dreaded Stinx that has captured her. After an action-packed journey through the Forest of Doom, down The River of Doom, and across the Chasm of Doom, they reach the Stinx's lair. Gibbs peppers his prose with entertaining side comments as well as "IQ boosters," explaining terms such as malodorous, iconoclast, and infinitesimal, while maintaining the pace of the narrative. This giddy romp through a medieval setting, complete with menacing trolls and gigantic, bloodthirsty butterflies, is the start of a promising series from the author of Spy School (2012) and its sequels.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Diverting from anything seen at the Round Table, Gibbs (the Spy School series) brings his lighthearted touch to medieval times in this energetic series starter. When a nefarious monster absconds with Princess Grace of a neighboring kingdom, cowardly Prince Ruprecht seeks knights to join him on his rescue. Since, according to self-described peasant Tim, "the worst part of being a peasant isn't really what we don't have. It's what we can't do," he and his best friend Belinda sign up for tryouts, hoping to change their fates. In doing so, they enter into a dastardly plan concocted by Ruprecht and court advisor Nerlim, who aren't actually seeking knights (the kingdom can't afford them following a bad investment) but "people who they could fool into thinking that they were knights." A comic quest follows, with scares and laughs abundantly on offer. Sketch-style b&w art by Curtis (Penguin and Moose Brave the Night) visualizes the paper white--skinned cast's hijinks. Tim's chatty, entertaining narration, which includes ample potty humor and the occasional vocabulary "IQ booster," also touches on lessons about stereotypes and unconscious bias throughout the chatty, madcap adventure. Ages 7--10. (Mar.)

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 3--5--A quest to save a princess turns out to be nothing like the fairy tales suggest. Narrated by Tim, a peasant boy with a surprisingly rich vocabulary and complete knowledge of all the things that don't exist in his world, this romp follows Tim and his best friend Belinda, who seize the opportunity to join Prince Ruprecht and Court Magician Nerlim as they head off to rescue Princess Grace (who, it turns out, doesn't actually need to be rescued). Along for the adventure are Ferkle the Village Idiot (only pretending because it's the family business) and Rover, Tim's Fr-dog (an enormous frog who was once a dog… oh, it's a long story). The prince isn't brave, the magician can only do card tricks, and the monster isn't so very monstrous. Along with the enhanced vocabulary and extreme silliness, there is discussion of societal expectations. All characters are cued as white. VERDICT Will kids understand all of the references? Possibly not, but the humor, enhanced by Quentin Blake-esque illustrations, will definitely find an audience with kids looking for a quick, funny read.--Mara Alpert

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Thinking that it's better to be fake knights than real peasants, Tim and his best buddy, Belinda, sign up to rescue a captured princess. Unaware that they've been snookered into a dastardly scheme, the two youngsters hear that Princess Grace from the next kingdom over has been carried off in the claws of a fearsome and funky "stinx" and volunteer to accompany (reputedly) brave and noble Prince Ruprecht and his (reputedly) powerful magician Nerlim on a rescue mission. Accompanied by village idiot Ferkle, whose habit of shoving mud in his pants effectively lowers the level of humor even further, the two ersatz knights weather the Forest of Doom, the River of Doom, and a "troll bridge" across the Chasm of Doom despite a suspicious lack of assistance from either the prince or the magician…and arrive to discover that neither the stinx nor the princess is quite as expected either. In fact, the princess ends up being the rescuer ("That's what you call irony," she comments) when Ruprecht and Nerlim announce their intention to seize her and do away with any inconvenient witnesses. Tim and Belinda are rewarded with promotions for their efforts; readers will come away with both a cogent warning from Gibbs about the dangers of falling for fake news and better vocabularies due to his penchant for flagging significant words like gullible and malodorous in the narrative and then pausing to define and use them in sample sentences. Along with a full-spread map, Curtis supplies frequent pen-and-ink sketches of the cast in comical poses and straits. The races and ethnicities of the characters are not specified in the text, though cover art depicts characters of various skin tones. Budding heroes defeat class and gender expectations as well as the occasional monster in this wry outing. (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Chapter One: Who I AmCHAPTER ONEWho I Am ONCE UPON A TIME... There was a prince who was revered throughout the land for being exceptionally brave... who was known far and wide for his cool and calm presence in the face of grave danger... and who was beloved and adored by all the people of his kingdom. This is not his story. It's mine. I'm Tim. Come in a little closer so you can have a better look at me. You know how, whenever you see a movie or read a story set in olden times, it's almost always about a dashing prince or a beautiful princess, and you're supposed to get all wrapped up in their troubles? Well, there are lots of other people who aren't princes or princesses, and trust me: we have way more problems than the rich folks do. We're called peasants. And being a peasant stinks . To start with, we're all really, really poor. See those clothes I'm wearing? Those are the only clothes I own. I've been wearing the same outfit for two years--and it was a hand-me-down from a cousin who wore it for two years before me . All the princes and princesses live in castles with hundreds of rooms. I live in a hut . See? You might be thinking to yourself, Gosh, that's awfully small, but it looks pretty cozy. Well, it's not. For example, look at the windows.... Oh, that's right. You can't. Because there aren't any windows. Peasants can't afford fancy stuff like glass. Which means that any animal that wants to get into your house can do it: flies, lice, raccoons, muskrats, wild boars, the occasional dragon... While I'm on the subject, here are a few other things we don't have: Air-conditioning. Heaters. Refrigerators. Televisions. Internet. Bathrooms. Yes, you heard that right. We don't have bathrooms. No showers. No sinks. No toilets . (All right, I'll admit, the princes and princesses don't have flush toilets either, but they at least have separate rooms to do their business and professional wipers to clean them afterward.) But the worst part of being a peasant isn't really what we don't have. It's what we can't do . See, there's only one way to become a prince or princess: you're born into it. That's it. No one can apply for a job as a royal family member. If you're a peasant boy, like me, you basically have one option: Peasant. My parents are peasants. So were their parents. And their parents before them. And so on and so on and so on, going all the way back as far as anyone can remember. (Which, given that there aren't any history books readily available, is about seventy years.) There's nothing you can do about it. Almost. It turns out, there is one way a peasant can change his lot in life. It isn't easy, though. In fact, it's extremely dangerous. Ridiculously, terribly, insanely dangerous. But if you're smart, brave, confident, trustworthy, honest--and if you don't die in the process--then you might be able to pull it off. I was willing to give it a shot. Because, like I said, being a peasant stinks. (Okay, I'll admit, some people are content with peasantry. Like my parents. And all my uncles and aunts. And all my distant cousins. And most of my neighbors. But it just wasn't for me.) So... this is the story of how I took that shot. And how it led to the greatest adventure of my young life--along with plenty of danger and peril and treachery and doom. It's a good story, though. I promise. And there are some awesome pictures, too. So settle down, get cozy, maybe make a quick stop to use the bathroom (with your flush toilet, you lucky duck), and I'll tell it to you. Right now. Excerpted from Once upon a Tim by Stuart Gibbs All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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