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A review by okiecozyreader
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
This is one of the most beautiful children’s books I have ever seen. The illustrations throughout and the reference in the back of magical (impossible) creatures were delightful. This book was listed as the Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and Target children’s book of the year.
It’s a lot to live up to, and it seems like it did for many readers. My son loved fantasy when he was this age and I know he would have enjoyed this one. I saw Rick Riordan gave this an amazing review, and I feel like it reads like so many of his books and those in his RR Presents label.
The book mainly alternates between two points of view -
Mal, a young girl who has a special set of wings that allows her to fly - and Christopher, a boy who is a magnet for animals. He gets sent to his grandfather’s house and is told not to enter a specific part of the forest. Which of course, he immediately does. Mal and her baby Griffin were in a horrible chase and he finds that he needs to protect them. They end up with their own motley crew of characters to help them fight the evil forces that are damaging their world of Archipelago.
Honestly, I felt like it read like all the other fantasy books I’ve read. But if you have a child who loves fantasy, my guess would be that they would love this. It is a longer read for either older elementary or middle school readers. I felt like it took forever for things to really happen (50% in until you find out).
Katherine Rundell has such an interesting life and career and definitely has the skills to write a great story.
“And then she spoke the most powerful and exhausting, the bravest, most exasperating and galvanic sentence in the human language.
Some sentences have the power to change everything. There are the usual suspects: I Love you, I hate you, I'm pregnant, I'm dying, I regret to tell you that this country is at war. But the words with the greatest power to create both havoc and marvels are these:”
"I need your help." P59
It’s a lot to live up to, and it seems like it did for many readers. My son loved fantasy when he was this age and I know he would have enjoyed this one. I saw Rick Riordan gave this an amazing review, and I feel like it reads like so many of his books and those in his RR Presents label.
The book mainly alternates between two points of view -
Mal, a young girl who has a special set of wings that allows her to fly - and Christopher, a boy who is a magnet for animals. He gets sent to his grandfather’s house and is told not to enter a specific part of the forest. Which of course, he immediately does. Mal and her baby Griffin were in a horrible chase and he finds that he needs to protect them. They end up with their own motley crew of characters to help them fight the evil forces that are damaging their world of Archipelago.
Honestly, I felt like it read like all the other fantasy books I’ve read. But if you have a child who loves fantasy, my guess would be that they would love this. It is a longer read for either older elementary or middle school readers. I felt like it took forever for things to really happen (50% in until you find out).
Katherine Rundell has such an interesting life and career and definitely has the skills to write a great story.
“And then she spoke the most powerful and exhausting, the bravest, most exasperating and galvanic sentence in the human language.
Some sentences have the power to change everything. There are the usual suspects: I Love you, I hate you, I'm pregnant, I'm dying, I regret to tell you that this country is at war. But the words with the greatest power to create both havoc and marvels are these:”
"I need your help." P59