Now that I am all caught up on
the Monarch Nominees, I am finally ready to tackle those pesky Bluestem
Nominees. I was not impressed when the
Bluestem Award was unveiled. It felt redundant – too much overlap with the Monarchs
and Caudills. And there were books that appeared on multiple lists over the
course of these few years. AND there were books included from the 1990s. So I
ignored them for the first two years and I am paying the price.
Simultaneously, I was in need of
a new read aloud chapter book for my girls and me. I’m thinking – kill two
birds with one stone. I pulled out that aggravating Bluestem list and started
scanning for something that would fit the bill and the Nathaniel Fludd: Beastologist series
caught my eye immediately. I admit that I had wanted to pick it up and now I
had the perfect excuse NOT to wait.
But I also picked up a second
choice – I small tome about a dog. Little did I know that I was going to have a
standoff. I should have known that each girl would pick a different book. Most
likely to get me to choose sides, but I was prepared. They didn’t see me
coming. I opted to read a chapter from each. For the first week, I would read a
chapter from Beastologist and a
few (very short) chapters from the dog book.
Then it happened. The dog book
fell by the wayside. Both girls wanted a chapter or sometimes two from Beastologist. I will agree. I was bored
with the dog book. We never finished it. Both girls were able to discern which
book was better written and never looked back. Beastologist has the better plot, more
intriguing characters, a superior story arch and sequels!! And, of course, the
chance to practice my British accent as well as… Bedouin.
Under 140 pages and including
pictures, this chapter book was over too fast. I will liken it to Indiana Jones
meets Harry Potter for the kids not old enough or ready for the giant Harry Potter novels. The setting is
1920s England and its territories. Our protagonist is quiet reader,
sketcher Nathaniel Fludd. He is ten and the son of adventurous parents. They
have been absent most of his childhood. Their promise was to send for him when
he was old enough to join them in their adventures. Their letter never arrived.
Nate was ashamed that he never caught the “adventure” bug.
Nate’s parents were traveling by
airship when they crashed near the North Pole. Half of the crew, including the
Fludds, is still missing. Nate has only one surviving relative left to care for
him and that is Phil A. Fludd. Aunt Phil to Nate. Being a Fludd, she is also an
adventurer. She is about to embark on a trip to Arabia to help a phoenix lay an
egg. She assumes that Nate knows all about his heritage through letters sent to
him by his parents.
Unfortunately, Nate has never
received a letter from his parents and he is hopelessly naïve as to the role
the Fludds have played in mapping out the world as well as its creatures –
mythological creatures to us, but real to the Fludds. Nate’s first mythological
run in is with a speaking, SPEAKING, Dodo named Cornelius. His second is with
an honest-to- goodness, live Gremlin named Greasle. Remember the gremlin from
Bugs Bunny? The one that wreaks havoc on airplanes? Exactly!
In the first book, Nate receives
his first mission – to protect the Phoenix until an egg is laid. He receives
his mission when events are thrown out of whack because of the laws of the
Bedouin. Aunt Phil is uniquely prepared for the troubles, but Nate must be left
behind in order to protect everyone involved. And if the Phoenix doesn’t
present trouble enough, a curious young Bedouin girl assists as well as an unidentified
burglar in the night. If we had any complaint, it was that we wanted MORE! We
immediately began Book Two!
No comments:
Post a Comment