by Allan Woodrow (Author)
"Young Frankenstein meets The Princess Bride in the most hysterically hilarious book I've read in years."--Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author.
All orphan Bolt Wattle has ever wanted was to find his true family. When a mysterious baron in far-off Brugaria sends for Bolt, he wonders if he's getting closer to finding his long-lost parents. But Baron Chordata appears to be a twelve-year-old boy who wears tuxedos all the time, shouts at everyone, and forbids Bolt from asking questions.
Things couldn't get any worse . . . until midnight, when the Baron bites Bolt and turns him into a half boy, half penguin. Then things really couldn't get worse-- nope, wait, they get a lot worse. With the help and hindrance of a plucky girl who just might be the world's greatest bandit, a whale cult led by a man whose weapon is a stale loaf of French bread, and a sinister but friendly fortune-teller who can't stop cackling, Bolt's on a quest to reverse the curse, return to human form, and stop the Baron from taking over the country of Brugaria with his army of mind-controlled penguins in what might be the weirdest--and funniest--middle-grade novel you've ever read.
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Gr 3-6--Bolt Wattle has lived at a miserable orphanage for as long as he can remember, but he dreams that his parents will someday return for him. When he is abruptly adopted by Baron Chordata and sent to far-away Brugaria, he wonders if his family is claiming him at last. In Brugaria, all is not well: Bolt arrives at a dusty, crumbling castle after an alarming encounter with some villagers, and bands of rogue penguins roam the landscape. Worse, far from the father figure Bolt has dreamed of, Baron Chordata appears to be a boy no older than Bolt himself. At the stroke of midnight the Baron bites Bolt in the neck, and Bolt discovers the Baron's terrible secret: he is a werepenguin, and now, so is Bolt. Bolt has three days to reverse the transformation and stop the Baron from leading the penguins into battle against the villagers, or he will be cursed to remain a werepenguin forever. This slapstick story is light on horror, character development, and logic, but heavy on gross-out humor and fish stick jokes. Bolt is occasionally assisted by Annika, the world's fiercest bandit whom nobody has ever heard of, but neither she nor any other character experiences significant growth. Readers who enjoy the trappings of horror without any genuine chills or thrills are the best audience for this story. VERDICT An additional purchase where goofy humor circulates well.--Misti Tidman, Mansfield/Richland County Public Library, OH
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