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honey_ob's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. A completely uniques and creatives story of loss and recovery. Charming and heart rendering at the same time Inkling is absolutely worth reading.
kba76's review against another edition
4.0
Inkling is such a heartwarming story, that takes a relatively simple idea but immerses it in magic and creates something quite captivating.
Ethan is the son of a well-known illustrator, but he can’t draw. He’s been put in charge of the drawings for a group comic book project and he doesn’t want to let his friends down, but the time to sort this out is running low. Then something very unexpected happens.
We’re not sure how it comes about but Ethan finds an ink blob that is, essentially, a sentient thing. Named Inkling, Ethan now has a way to create his drawings.
Within a short space of time I had fallen in love with Inkling. With a passion for books this little one is desperate to learn and share his passion, doing what he can to help others.
Unfortunately, though Ethan’s intentions are good people get to know about Inkling and not everyone is quite as keen to ensure they don’t exploit his talents.
While the main part of the story is about the friendship between Ethan and Inkling, there’s also a touching backdrop focusing on Ethan’s family and how they are coping since the death of his mother.
A Carnegie long-listed book that I really hope will make its way onto the shortlist.
Ethan is the son of a well-known illustrator, but he can’t draw. He’s been put in charge of the drawings for a group comic book project and he doesn’t want to let his friends down, but the time to sort this out is running low. Then something very unexpected happens.
We’re not sure how it comes about but Ethan finds an ink blob that is, essentially, a sentient thing. Named Inkling, Ethan now has a way to create his drawings.
Within a short space of time I had fallen in love with Inkling. With a passion for books this little one is desperate to learn and share his passion, doing what he can to help others.
Unfortunately, though Ethan’s intentions are good people get to know about Inkling and not everyone is quite as keen to ensure they don’t exploit his talents.
While the main part of the story is about the friendship between Ethan and Inkling, there’s also a touching backdrop focusing on Ethan’s family and how they are coping since the death of his mother.
A Carnegie long-listed book that I really hope will make its way onto the shortlist.
mskristi4's review against another edition
5.0
Lovely and inventive look at the aspects of the creative process, as well as how individuals and families process grief.
melinda_auniquelyportablemagic's review against another edition
4.0
I would like to give this 4.5 stars. I love Kenneth Oppel, but found it a bit slow in the middle, hence the half star. This is from the Forest of Reading Silver Birch list, but I’ve been planning on reading it anyway.
jesforeverlostinbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve been on a middle grade kick and this story of a family struggling with grief and a magical moment with ink and heartwarming. A fun unique story for the whole family and the audio was great too!
erchla's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this one, but felt like it dragged a bit and could have been shorter. My 7 year old daughter LOVED it though and said her rating would be five enthusiastic stars!
nerfherder86's review against another edition
4.0
Adorable and funny middle grade novel about a boy who befriends a sentient splotch of ink! And how the "Inkling" helps to heal the boy's family. Ethan, 6th grader, is doing a graphic novel group project for school but having trouble with his part, drawing the pictures. He's especially chagrined about his lack of artistic talent because his father is a highly successful graphic novelist, who created a popular superhero series but lately hasn't been able to come up with anything new. One night some of the ink oozes out of Mr. Rylance's sketchbook--it literally pulls itself out of the book, and rolls around the house, absorbing ink from printed books and "feeding" itself on words and pictures, becoming bigger and more agile at rearranging itself into various shapes. When Ethan discovers it, they are able to communicate (Inkling can very cleverly form words, since he is after all, ink) and Inkling is friendly and pet-like, and becomes Ethan's secret friend. The crux of the story is how Ethan's family's loss--the death of his mother--has caused a rift between him and his father and dried up his father's creativity; his younger sister, who has Down Syndrome, has apparently been able to heal better and she adorably calls Inkling "Lucy" when it forms into the shape of a puppy for her to play with. When Inkling wants to help Ethan by drawing his project for him, Ethan lets him, and things get complicated--is what Ethan is doing cheating? What will happen when Ethan's dad finds out about Inkling, will he want Inkling to draw for *him*? And then there's the nosy girl from school whose dad is Ethan's father's publisher, who is demanding fresh new graphic novel work from the grieving artist... This is just a really cute story that has some good messages underneath the action and humor of a magical motivated splot of ink. 2020 Buckeye Children's Book Award nominee, grades 3-5
jenennap29's review against another edition
4.0
Such a cool concept for a story! There’s a lot of heart in the depths of this story that makes it an easy, but enjoyable read.
molliebrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Didn't hate it but didn't super like it either. I think my tweens will enjoy it at least, and there are some good discussions to be had from it. I didn't care for the ending.