One Beastly Beast: Two Aliens, Three Inventors, Four Fantastic Tales

I gotta hand it the author, his well-paced, playful stories balance reality with fantasy in a palatable way. For ex., in Beastly Beast he tosses in some humor to get the kids giggling while capturing the relentlessness monotony and gnawing exasperation of a bored child. Those first couple pages amused my kids but also made them squirm in anticipation. When the main character finally finds some action, my daughter and I were relieved it wasn't too far beyond reality. I guess the two of us are less willing to suspend our disbelief and prefer to focus on all things fantastic that can be found in everyday life. More intense kids, like my son, may find the story slightly less appealing.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer on 09/20/2007 ONE BEASTLY BEAST: TWO ALIENS, THREE INVENTORS, FOUR FANTASTIC TALES is a collection of four short stories by fantasy author Garth Nix. In "Blackbread the Pirate," DVDs are stolen from Peter by a gang of pirate rats. Yes, pirate rats! One Captain Erasmus Rattus arrives to take Peter to a magical land in hopes of retrieving the DVDs--they are rentals. In "The Princess and the Beastly Beast," Princess Chlorinda is bored and somewhat ignored. There is no adventure--until she's forced to dive down the throat of a monstrous beast! In "Bill the Inventor," a baby boy was found in a banana skin with no clue to his parents' whereabouts, and he was sent to an orphanage. Several years later, he is faced with unusual prospects for adoptive parents. Being the smart boy he is, he uses his inventions to avoid adoption, until... In "Serena and the Sea Serpent," a freak accident embedded Serena with the contents of fifty-seven encyclopedias. As the town know-it-all, she volunteers to solve a small problem: a huge sea serpent is running amok up and down the coast. She may be small, but she is determined! These stories are clever and fun, sure to be a hit among children who enjoy a bit of fun and fantasy in the everyday world. Illustrator Brian Biggs brings Nix's tales to life with same hilarious fantasy spirit in which they were written. For parents who worry that sensitive children may be frightened by the aliens, monsters, and such, I feel this is a good selection for reading together. These stories are presented in a fun, not scary, manner. The beauty of reading it with your child is that you can not only gauge their reaction, you can also talk about it and other things that either worry them or make them feel brave.

Fantasy writer Garth Nix has created a short story collection for the younger set. Exploring the underworld of rat pirates; adoptions of Earthlings by odd, tentacled aliens; a princess literally searching the belly of the beast; and a brainiac solving the dilemmas of a kindhearted sea serpent, Nix introduces young readers to the possibilities of the imagination between the covers of a book. ONE BEASTLY BEAST is an excellent choice for the reluctant reader. The full manuscript is around 120 pages, which can make a RR groan. However, each story is only about a quarter of the book, so readers can actually finish a single storyline very quickly. Additionally, illustrator Brian Biggs provides a number of illustrations to kick-start the imaginations of readers who might need a little extra motivation to continue to the end. Possibly the strongest point regarding the construction of this book, however, is that even though it is a collection of four short stories, Nix still divides each story into chapters, thus giving young readers a taste of chapter books, as well as further dividing the reading challenge into smaller bites for the most reluctant of readers. For those who are looking for something that will motivate a boy to read, this book will do just that, with pirates, rats, inventors, and aliens. Nix doesn't forget about his young female audience, however; they will love the adventure-seeking princess, penguinmaids, and the super-smart Serena, who saves the day with her bravery and willingness to dig deeper and understand the heart of a vegetarian sea serpent. Overall, this is a book for every young reader; Nix has scored a fantasy winner with ONE BEASTLY BEAST (TWO ALIENS, THREE INVENTORS, FOUR FANTASTIC TALES). Reviewed by: Mechele R. Dillard