Some of the Cybils Middle Grade Fiction books I read were just . . . well, oddballs. In a good way, mostly.
Sir Seth Thistlethwaite and the Soothsayer’s Shoes by Richard Thake. O.K. First read that title out loud. It’s absolutely the best book title I’ve read this year. In the book, Sir Seth and his friend Sir Ollie, “fearless and famous ten year old knights”, go out in the morning to “seek out injustice and uphold fair play and rescue fair maidens from fire-breathing dragons, and, if time allowed, slay all those miserable, invisible things hiding under your bed.” Lots of wordplay, punning, and rhyming make this title somewhat reminiscent of Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth. I was also reminded of The Princess Bride and strangely enough, maybe because of the illustrations (?), of Adventures in Odyssey. Sir Seth and Sir Ollie and their faithful steed, Shasta, who’s really a dog, go on a quest to find the soothsayer’s truth-telling shoes that have been stolen from Sir Shawn Shrood the Soothsayer of Thatchwych by poxy Prince Quincy of Poxley Castle in High Dudgeon. Yeah, if you like that description, you’ll enjoy lots more tongue twisters and creative anachronisms in this short, but sweet imaginary adventure story.
Finn Reed, Flu Fighter: How I Survived a Worldwide Pandemic, the School Bully, and the Craziest Game of Dodge Ball Ever by Eric Stevens is a another kind of oddity. Finn Reeder finds himself keeping a journal for his sixth grade English class for five weeks in the midst of a worldwide flu pandemic. When, one by one, everyone in his school, everyone at home, all of his friends, even his worst enemy, all fall victim to H1N1 flu, Finn Reeder ends up plying solo dodge ball in an empty gym with a crazy coach looking on from afar. Can Finn survive and avoid the craziness and the flu virus that have overtaken his teachers, family and schoolmates? And who is the silent substitute wearing a gas mask to school?
Secrets of a Lab Rat: Mom, There’s a Dinosaur in Beeson’s Lake by Trudi Truett has fourth grade inventor Scab McNally finding a prehistoric swamp creature in Beeson’s Lake. But the only way his mom will let him go back to the lake so that he can prove the existence of the dinosaur is for Scab to pass the Salmon level swim class. Unfortunately, Scab’s afraid of swimming, especially diving. Fortunately, he knows how to fake it or avoid it. Unfortunately, he plays a prank and gets himself grounded. Fortunately, Scab has an escape hatch through his bedroom window. Unfortunately . . .
Spike and Ali Enson by Malaika Rose Stanley. Spike, who is adopted, discovers that Ali, his new baby brother is actually an alien, not human at all. Is it just a case of sibling rivalry?Or is it true, and will anyone believe Spike before it’s too late? Velly British, with all the talk of “mates” and “nappies” and shepherd’s pie. Also, very strange, since Ali really is a space alien, maybe, I think.
Buddy Zooka in the French Quarter and Beyond by Tracey Tangerine. I tried, but couldn’t get into this one. However, it might appeal to some of the more zany readers in the audience. So here’s the publisher’s blurb: “Buddy Zooka brings the French Quarter to life like no one since Ignatius Reilly. Buddy is a happy-go-lucky musician in the French Quarter until one day he goes fishing and catches an alligator, Mardi Gater, who quickly decides to take up residence in Buddy’s hat. Thrown off his usual carefree routine, Buddy loses his smile and starts to contemplate his world. Buddy’s journey turns spiritual as faith healers show him how man has been degrading his environment and how the secret to our salvation resides within each one of us.”
Departure Time by Truus Marti. Translated from the Dutch and it, too, lost me from the beginning. The hotel from hell? A talking rat and a fox host? Amnesia and a traveling musician father? I’m just not putting all this stuff together. But Charlotte loved it. And Betsy at Fuse #8 thought it was “a singular, memorable book.” So either I gave up too soon, or I’m not as strange as They are.
Anyway, if you’re up for odd, bizarre, eccentric, or freaky, one of the above might tickle your fancy. Tell them I sent you.
The shortlists for the 2010 Cybils will be announced on New Year’s Day.
Oh, and what’s the strangest book you read this year?