Gargantis (Legends of Eerie-On-Sea #2)

by Thomas Taylor (Author) Tom Booth (Illustrator)

Gargantis (Legends of Eerie-On-Sea #2)
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

In the second fantasy set in Eerie-on-Sea, Herbert and Violet team up to solve the mystery of Gargantis -- an ancient creature of the deep with the power to create life-threatening storms.

There's a storm brewing over Eerie-on-Sea, and the fisherfolk say a monster is the cause. Someone has woken the ancient Gargantis, who sleeps in the watery caves beneath this spooky seaside town where legends have a habit of coming to life. It seems the Gargantis is looking for something: a treasure stolen from her underwater lair. And it just might be in the Lost-and-Foundery at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, in the care of one Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder.

With the help of the daring Violet Parma, ever-reliable Herbie will do his best to figure out what the Gargantis wants and who stole her treasure in the first place. In a town full of suspicious, secretive characters, it could be anyone!

Select format:
Paperback
$7.99

Find books about:

More books in the series - See All

Other series you might like

Kirkus

Starred Review
Underlying all the fun is a gentle, unforced message about life's interdependence. Human, animal, and mechanical characters (especially the charming hermit crab) are a winning assortment: enchanting or horrifying, quirky or droll, invariably original. Enticing mysteries remain to be solved...Evocative settings, ingenious plotting, sly humor, and shivery suspense render this sequel an unmitigated delight.

ALA/Booklist

Fortunately, Herbert has several allies, notably pushy but clever Violet Parma and Clermit, a small but well-armed clockwork hermit crab, to help him quiet the monster but keep it alive. Said quest bears fruit, but only at the climax of a suspenseful narrative awash in old legends, secret codes, strange local characters, and hints of startling revelations to come.

School Library Journal

In the opening scene of this sequel to Malamander, a dark and stormy night brings a sinister new guest to the Grand Nautilus Hotel who delivers a strange object to Lost-and-Founder Herbie Lemon—a spiky mechanical shell which scuttles about and plays a sea shanty. This launches Herbie and his spunky friend Violet on a perilous adventure. When a fish-shaped bottle with a mysterious light inside washes up on the beach at Eerie-by-the Sea, it is left in Herbie's care since both Mrs. Flotsam and Dr. Thalassi claim it for their respective enterprises. In pursuit of a fair decision as to who should have it, the young sleuths find themselves on a wild boat journey to find the source of a violent storm, personified as Gargantis, which is threatening the life of the town. Vividly drawn characters and setting, delicious humor, and Herbie's intimate second-person voice contribute to a thoroughly enjoyable story with many twists and turns—though Malamander readers might wish for a few more clues as to how Herbie came to wash up onshore in a lemon crate as a child and just what happened to Violet's parents who were somehow lost at sea. Black-and-white illustrations and a map appear liberally throughout. VERDICT Readers will gobble up this supernatural seaside adventure and eagerly await the next in the series.—Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Having already dealt with one legendary sea creature in Malamander (BCCB 9/19), Herbie Lemon and his pal Violet must now face another monster that threatens Eerie-on-Sea...Fans of the first will continue to delight in Taylor's wry humor, and one can only hope for more strange adventures in Eerie-on-Sea." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Thomas Taylor
Thomas Taylor is an award-winning author-illustrator for children. He illustrated the cover for the very first British edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and has since gone on to write and illustrate several picture books and young novels, most recently the graphic novel Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter by Marcus Sedgwick. He lives on the south coast of England.

Art director by day and author-illustrator by night, Tom Booth is a maker of acclaimed children's books, including Don't Blink!, This Is Christmas, and Who Wins? He made his earliest marks -- sometimes on his parents' antique kitchen table -- growing up in Pennsylvania. Now living in Brooklyn, New York, he is currently at work on several children's books on a table all his own.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781536208597
Lexile Measure
760
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Walker Books Us
Publication date
May 26, 2020
Series
Legends of Eerie-on-Sea
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV022000 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, & Fables | General
JUV052000 - Juvenile Fiction | Monsters
Library of Congress categories
Lost and found possessions
Lost articles
Magic
Fantasy
Imaginary places
Private investigators
Imaginary creatures
Sea monsters

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!