RELEASE DATE: June 7, 2004
SERIES: Edgar and Ellen, Book #1
AUTHOR LINKS: WEB / GOODREADS
PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster
FORMAT: Hardcover
SOURCE: Library
BUY NOW FROM: Amazon
Nod’s Limbs is a picturesque town with a bad side–the home of scheming siblings Edgar and Ellen, villains who are the heroes of this new series. Illustrations.
MY REVIEW
Charles Ogden’s book, Rare Beasts, tells the story of twins Edgar and Ellen and their search to cure their boredom by doing unspeakable things, like torture and pranks. In the first volume of this series, they steal the neighbourhood pets after seeing a TV show looking for rare creatures that could fetch a large sum.
However, being an animal lover, I just couldn’t grasp how the premise of animal abuse would be a good topic for children. At the age that this story is written for, I would think that children should be taught how to respect animals, not to steal them and dress them up and try to sell them for massive amounts of money.
I also didn’t find the main characters to be likeable at all–at least in some books where the main character is a brat, there is some kind of charm that the reader should like. Instead, I found that I was forcing myself to finish reading the book, despite the fact that I really wasn’t enjoying too much of it. The illustrations aren’t bad, however, and there is some great vocabulary, so I guess it has something going for it.
This book is very much in the vein of Lemony Snickett and I found that I wasn’t too vested in the story. I got that it was a children’s book and that, of course, nothing too gruesome or too horrible would happen, but I almost expected more to happen than what did take place. It’s a nice enough story, but maybe a little too young for me.
I’m sure if you enjoyed Lemony Snickett, or even The Addams Family, you would enjoy this book–probably the whole series. It’s a very short, light read. Just be sure to explain to your children that this really isn’t how pets should be treated.
Read More Reviews of This Book
Amy’s review –> We’ll Always Have Books
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© 2012, Reading In Winter. All rights reserved.
This sounds pretty interesting, but not something that I would read to my own kids. The illustration seems good though, based on the cover!
Yeah, I wouldn’t gift it to me niece or nephew. The illustrations are cute!
I think the premise is interested and I kind of have a twisted sense of humor so I am a bit intrigued. However, I am with you on how animals should and should not be treated. When I first looked at the cover, I thought that it resembled something that Tim Burton would create.
That’s what I thought, too! It’s very Tim Burton-esque.
I haven’t read any Edgar & Ellen book yet but the artwork is stupendous. I agree with you on tagging the book as something for older kids rather than for small children.
The artwork is pretty cute … and evil.
Yeah, it does look a little “evil”.
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