Reviews

Ombric, Nicholas, and Katherine are on the track to find an ancient relic that will help them in the capturing of Pitch, who has ravished Santoff Claussen and turn all the animals and parents into statues. The children were captured by Pitch and taken to the center of the earth. Pitch has left a ransom for getting the children back, he wants Ombric's library of magical books.
The 3 hero's decided that Ombric must stay behind and release all the statues while Nicholas and Katherine head off to find the next relic guided by the magic sword given to Nicholas. When the get to the relic they find it is an egg and there is an friend that is older than Ombric. E. Aster Bunnymund aka easter bunny. Together they head to save the children and discover that Pitch is creating an army of fearlings that have iron armor that will block out the light and allow them to transverse during the daytime.

What I really like about this second book is how the Easter Bunny and Bookworms are introduced into the fighting against nightmares(Pitch & the fearlings) Any child would like this series and find solace in the everyday tales they have heard from childhood.

saroz162's review against another edition

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4.0

William Joyce returns with a second volume in his Guardians of Childhood series, this one even more delightful than the first (if that were possible). The mysterious Pooka, Bunnymund, adds a lot to the story, and while the final confrontation feels a little bit thin, the journey getting there is an awful lot of fun. Joyce is clearly in his element with these tales, and their slightly old-fashioned quality is very appealing to anyone who grew up on early 20th century children's literature. (There are clearly some old-fashioned references, too: the idea of the Pooka, while mythological in origin, is almost certainly distilled by Joyce via the film Harvey, and there's a laugh-out-loud-if-you-recognize-it dialogue steal from Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles).

Plus, this is the first story I've read that adequately explains the Easter Bunny's fascination with chocolate - despite the fact he never eats any! Joyce continues to mine those little childhood "why"s and "what-if"s we take for granted as adults for charming story material. I look forward to the next in the series.

catethegreat03's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a pretty good book! It further develops the characters, specifically North and Ombric. If you have seen the movie, let it be known that this is not the same Bunnymund. That's not a bad thing, just an observation. Overall, a great book for a quick read and/or reading out loud to children. I look forward to the next book.

izumisano's review against another edition

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4.0

The first half of this book was basically reiterating what happened in Nicholas St. North. When the book finally has its own story it is quite good and fun.

rebelbelle13's review against another edition

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4.0

Had this not been a very short book, it would have ended up being a bit of a slog. That's not to say that this sophomore effort from Joyce is no good- it is still richly imagined with vibrant characters within a beautiful alternative magical Earthen past. The Guardians are slowly meeting and making their way to one another to provide a unified front against Pitch, the Nightmare King. This second novel highlights E. Aster Bunnymund, the owner of the second moon relic. I say it was a bit of a slog, because we really don't meet Bunnymund until halfway through a 250 page book. Pitch captures the children again, and it's up to Katherine, North, Ombric, Bunnymund, and Nightlight to set them free. We're introduced to new characters, including Katherine's goose, the egg armies, and Qwerty the caterpillar. We even get a glimpse into Ombric's childhood. This novel fleshes out the Guardians world we already know, but at the same time, indicates we still have a long way to go to finish the larger story. I will certainly continue with the next, and hopefully, it flows better than this one did.

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