The Abominables by Eva IbbotsonPublisher: Amulet Books, An Imprint of Abrams
Publication Date: October 2013
Source: BEA 2013
Rating:
Goodreads Synopsis:
Renowned literary great Eva Ibbotson delivers a final novel in her classic, much-loved style. A previously unpublished work from this favorite author, The Abominables follows a family of yetis who are forced, by tourism, to leave their home in the Himalayas and make their way across Europe to a possible new home. Siblings Con and Ellen shepherd the yetis along their eventful journey, with the help of Perry, a good-natured truck driver. Through a mountain rescue in the Alps and a bullfight in Spain, the yetis at last find their way to an ancestral estate in England—only to come upon a club of voracious hunters who have set their sights on the most exotic prey of all: the Abominable Snowmen.
Briskly funny and full of incident, The Abominables is vintage Ibbotson. With unforgettable characters and thoughtful messages about the environment and advocacy, it’s a generous last gift to her many devoted fans.
Review:
I received The
Abonimables at BEA 2013 and I am sad to say that many of the books I received
are still in my TBR pile – I went a bit overboard… Anywho, this book was very cute. I had not
heard of Eva Ibbotson before this book, but she was a beautiful writer of
whimsy. She took a surreal topic and although far-fetched made it seem
possible. In the book we meet Lady Agatha, a young girl kidnapped by a yeti.
She lives with them and raises the children, teaches them all sorts of things,
and when marketing and development start to take over their homestead she
decides that they should move to her old home in England, the Farley Towers.
The book is filled with illustrations and because I only had
an ARC some were even just the rough sketches, I am told that the released book
has these in full color and I bet that they are adorable. I pictures were a wonderful
addition to the story – they really captured what I was seeing in my head as I
was reading the tale and those types of images are always the best.
Ibbotson’s tale is a fun-filled adventure for young readers
with learning embedded throughout on their journey from the Himalayas to England.
This was a very easy read and I think both boys and girls will enjoy it. Amulet
markets it for ages 8-12 but if read a loud I think younger audiences can enjoy
as well.
This looks fun for kids, I will have to add it to my kids Pinterest board for future reference. I think the illustrations would be fun.
ReplyDeleteI illustrations were very cute, I am interested in picking this up as a finished copy to see what they look like in color and finished. Still a super cute book!
DeleteHa this sounds like a really fun book! One reason I dislike ARCs is when they have illustrations and it's just a rough one or a "to come" page which is even lamer >.<
ReplyDeleteHahaha yea the "to come" pages make me sad... there were a few more sketchy drawings in this one but they were all so cute that I didn't really mind.
DeleteThis sounds like a really cute book, I bet my 9 year old would love it. Thanks for the review, Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteAnd don't feel bad about going overboard at BEA, that's what you're supposed to do!
It is adorable! I think young readers will have fun with it. -- I have so many BEA books to read through still, since BEA 2014 just passed I feel even worse about them all -- slowly but surely making my way through them...
DeleteOh...this looks cute! I love looking at all the illustrations in children's books. Of course I like reading the stories too but the illustrations always make me smile. This one is going on my read then gift wish list. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt was a super cute story I was really excited to read it AND come to find it had pictures :)
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