The Curse of the Werepenguin (Werepenguin #1)

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

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

An NPR Best Book!

"Imagine Mary Shelley had a preoccupation with zoos, a sense of humor and bad allergies, then commiserated with Roald Dahl and Mel Brooks to write a story for upper elementary school kids, and you would have The Curse of the Werepenguin."—NPR

"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

"A bonkers delight that will make you laugh out loud." —Adam Rex, New York Times bestselling author

"Delightfully wacky, cleverly absurd, and frighteningly hilarious. This book is so much fun you're guaranteed to have a blast reading it!" —Chris Rylander, New York Times bestselling author

"This series opener's overall outrageous sense of humor has a high appeal. As irreverent, sarcastic, and strange as murderous, barking penguins." —Kirkus Reviews