One Beastly Beast: Two Aliens, Three Inventors, Four Fantastic Tales

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One Beastly Beast: Two Aliens, Three Inventors, Four Fantastic Tales

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Overview

One beastly beast that''s more than meets the eye.
Two aliens with slimy tentacles and too many eyes fixed on adopting a human son.
Three inventors and a sea serpent, a princess, an orphanage, and two ships full of pirates.
Four fantastic tales by renowned fantasy author Garth Nix.

Garth Nix takes on a younger audience with this collection of magical adventures. His trademark fertile imagination and spellbinding storytelling is sure to capture a whole new generation of fans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781489082831
Publisher:	Bolinda Audio
Publication date:	12/01/2015
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 6.75(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	7 - 11 Years

About the Author

Garth Nix was born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia. A full-time writer since 2001, he has worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth's books include the award-winning fantasy novels Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen and the cult favorite teen science fiction novel Shade's Children. His fantasy novels for younger readers include The Ragwitch, the six books of the Seventh Tower sequence, the Keys to the Kingdom series, and A Confusion of Princes. His books have appeared on the bestseller lists of the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, the Guardian, and the Australian, and his work has been translated into forty languages. He lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and two children.

Everything Goes is a series of books written and illustrated by Brian Biggs. The first books in the series, Everything Goes: On Land and Everything Goes: In the Air, are a celebration of cars, trucks, motorcycles, planes, and other things that go!

Read an Excerpt

One Beastly Beast
Two Aliens, Three Inventors, Four Fantastic Tales

Chapter One

"Take these videos back to the store, please," said Peter's mom. She took two DVDs out of her shopping bag and handed them to her son. "They have to be back by two o'clock or they cost extra."

"Okay," said Peter. Anything to get away from the boredom of following his mother around. "Which video store, Mom?"

"VideoPleaseMe," said his mom as she locked the car. "Right over there. Then come straight over to the supermarket."

"Yes, Mom," said Peter, rolling his eyes. Anyone would think he was still a little kid, not a fifth grader.

"And no, you can't have any money to rent games for your Xbox," added his mom as Peter opened his mouth.

"Yes, Mom," said Peter.

Peter trudged over to the store, pretending that he was slow-marching in a procession. He held the two DVDs out in front of him like some sort of ceremonial regalia. The sacred videos of the king, he thought, and laughed.

"Make way for the king's videos," he said in a mock-regal voice to no one in particular as he crossed the parking lot.

"King's videos!" said a voice that seemed to come from somewhere ahead of him and somehow down below.

Peter stopped pretending to be the king and looked around to see who was talking. But there was no one around. Just one lady getting into her car. The voice sounded low and gruff. It couldn't have come from her.

"Down here, matey!"

It was louder now. A deep and slightly nasty voice that made Peter think of running away. But he took a quick, deep breath instead . . . and lookeddown.

One Beastly Beast
Two Aliens, Three Inventors, Four Fantastic Tales. Copyright © by Garth Nix. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

Successfully training his sights on a middle-grade audience, the acclaimed Nix (the Abhorsen trilogy) presents a quartet of wacky yarns set in fantasy-laced worlds and topped off with plenty of wordplay. In the first, Peter is on his way to return DVDs to the rental store when four rats dressed as pirates steal them. ("We be video pirates, and those there discs will fetch us a pretty sum.") A crew of Navy rats escorts the boy down the sewer to "the Neverworld," where he helps defeat the bread-wielding pirate Blackbread. The second caper stars a bored princess, daughter of a former "full-time warrior maiden" and a wizard, whose quest for adventure brings her inside a "magical clockwork monster" that she erroneously expects is planning to attack her kingdom. A third tale introduces a boy living in an orphanage who finally finds his parents after escaping adoption by pirates and the reach of a pair of "hideously squidgy, lumpy, slimy, sweaty, yellow-tentacled, bulbous-eyed aliens," and the final story centers on one of 17 sisters who helps her town face a sea serpent that is damaging boats, capturing girls and turning them into "penguinmaids." Biggs (the Shredderman series) renders even the most monstrous creatures as ludicrous rather than gruesome in his lighthearted cartoons, laid out here with wit and a good eye for visual rhythm. Ages 7-11. (Aug.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

Rodent video pirates leap out of grated manholes in the opening story of this amusing collection. They've snatched Peter's mother's DVD, so what's a kid to do? In other stories, Princess Chlorinda discovers that the beastly beast on the battlements isn't what it appears to be; Bill the orphan finds out that picking the right parents can be challenging, if not downright dangerous; and Serena, youngest of sixteen siblings with "S" names, finds a little space for herself when she's transformed into a Penguinmaid. Nix, known for his slantwise look at fairy tale, fantasy, and historical themes for older readers (see Lady Friday), aims this collection at the chapter book crowd with a blend of irreverent humor and quick-paced narrative. You will find pirates and royalty, orphans and a young genius here, but their stories are interesting precisely because they're unconventionally plotted. Bill has his share of problems, but orphanhood per se isn't one of them. Escaping from the sea monster isn't the goal for Serena, and so on. Quirky and appropriately placed secondary adult characters (like Mrs. O'Squealin of the orphanage, and the Princess Rinda's charmingly distracted parents) also inhabit these engaging stories that blend magical and everyday elements in unexpected ways.

Children's Literature - Uma Krishnaswami

Gr 3-5
These four gently tongue-in-cheek adventures pit clever youngsters against unusual creatures-pirate rats who steal DVDs, aliens, a mechanical dragon, and a misunderstood sea serpent. Each time, clueless adult authorities ignore or are stymied by the supposed menace, but the hero is able to resolve the situation successfully and nonviolently. There is a strong emphasis on creativity and individual initiative, and a gentle reminder that brains are better than brawn. Black-and-white cartoon illustrations complement the lighthearted tone. The positive message and amusing stories make this a good choice for younger fantasy fans.
—Elaine E. KnightCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Droll ink drawings illustrate these fresh, light, and engaging stories.

ALA Booklist