Champions of Appledore - Hardcover

Dawnay

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0027893553 ISBN 13: 9780027893557

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1994

Synopsis

When a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, led by the great White Wolf and his sidekick, Snertle, terrorizes the village of Appledore, it is up to Tom, Scottish mouse Iona McClaren, lord of the manor Sir Pomfrey, and Grunwinkle, a retired dragon, to stop them.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

A delightful comic adventure in the spirit of Sharp's The Rescuers, set in a lighthearted alternative to Joan Aiken's fantasy Britain. The ``Champions'' who rid Appledore of vicious wolves are the lovably bumbling Sir Pomfrey, his silent valet Ragwort (a gifted cook), an ``eloquent and resourceful'' Scottish mouse, Iona, and dauntless Tom the Boy (son of Tom the Man), whose exloits are punctuated with escapes from a demanding mum. The world-traveled Iona's acquaintance, Grunwinkle, a deteriorating dragon, is their secret weapon--once renovated. ``Under the grime'' left by ``decades of neglect,'' he's found to be ``as gray as an uncooked shrimp,'' but bright new paint (``his nails were [now] as vermilion as his bloodshot eyes'') spruces him up; Tom plans to fool the wolves with a torch in place of the fiery breath which has been quenched by the dragon's perpetual sniffles, and Grunwinkle comes to his former self long enough to rout the enemy, before flying off to a well-earned retirement. An infestation of polecats (smelly, garrulous, rude little weasels) adds substantially to the humor of this splendid debut, whose fresh wit and lively action (vividly reflected in the author's energetic drawings) make it an irresistible readaloud. (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-5-Sir Pomfrey de Pomme, Lord of the Manor, and the residents of Appledore have a terrible problem. Their village is being overrun by smelly, smart-mouthed polecats who have scullery-maid accents and think nothing of slinking into houses to steal food and warm themselves by the fire. Worse, however, are the wolves, which have eaten almost all of the villagers' livestock and scratch at their windows at night. Sir Pomfrey decides that "Something Must Be Done" and sets out in his quixotic way to do it. He builds a wolf trap baited with overripe Stilton, but instead catches Iona, a Scottish mouse and world adventurer. Then, Pomfrey, his cook, Iona, and a venturesome boy named Tom decide to enlist a dragon to rid the town of its pests. They find Grunwinkle in a sorry, moth-eaten state, but with plenty of touch-up paint and mended wings, he looks his fiercest. The motley crew confronts the wolves, and Grunwinkle recovers his confidence. This rollicking adventure is full of slapstick humor and goofy schemes. The tale is illustrated with occasional full-page, black-ink sketches and smaller, decorative drawings. Light fantasy, but a good introduction to the genre.
Cheri Estes, Dorchester Road Regional Library, Charleston, SC
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0027893553
• ISBN 13: 9780027893557
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 144