The Somebodies

Bode, N. E.

ISBN 10: 0060791128 ISBN 13: 9780060791124

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2006

Synopsis

There is a city beneath New York City, one made by and for Anybodies. There you can find Bing Chubb's Ballpark, Willy Fattler's ever–changing Underground Hotel, and a castle whose spire sticks up into the dirt–filled sky...dangerously close to the rear ends of unsuspecting picnic–goers in Central Park. It's an extraordinary place, but it is in danger of becoming ordinary because of the nefarious Blue Queen. Somebody has to stop her, and if anybody is going to, nobody is better than everybody's favorite Anybody. In her third quirky adventure, Fern takes on the biggest, baddest, bluest opponent ever. Yikes!

About this title

About the Author

The elusive and charming N. E. Bode writes from a secret locale beneath a giant, unmarked tree in the middle of Central Park. Some great works born from this hidden perch include The Anybodies, The Nobodies, and The Somebodies. N. E. Bode would also like to mention the books of Julianna Baggott, trusted friend, who writes novels and poetry for grown-ups and lives in the Florida panhandle.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–This final book in the trilogy barrels along at breakneck pace. Young Fern is a royal Anybody, possessed of transformative powers. Her fellow Anybodies inhabit a city under Manhattan, but Fern lives aboveground with her aging grandmother, the Great Realdo, and her ineffectual Anybody father in a house made entirely of books and also inhabited by hobbits and Borrowers. Although Ferns grandmother defeated the evil Blue Queen in an earlier book, she is losing her powers and it is now up to Fern to save the Anybodies and the world from the resurgent queen and her henchmen, the Somebodies. There is quite a bit of catch-up involved to get readers up to speed here, and a liberal amount of Victorian-like cozy asides from author to reader. Narrow escapes, evil villains, and captured souls from books will keep kids turning pages through an imaginative kaleidoscope of transformations definitely reminiscent of our friends at Hogwarts. Ferns best friend, Howard, is a robotlike wimp who serves as an effective foil to the brave and take-charge Fern, and the Blue Queen is truly terrifying as she gobbles souls from books with the ultimate goal of stealing human ones. Puzzles, anagrams, and references to other childrens books will please young sleuths. Old-fashioned-looking black-and-white sketches contribute to the feel of a classic childrens book. Lessons about being true to oneself are preachy but fit the genre. Lemony Snickets fans will welcome this fantasy.–Quinby Frank, formerly at Green Hedges School, Vienna, VA
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About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0060791128
• ISBN 13: 9780060791124
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 288