The Basilisk's Lair (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, 2) - Hardcover

Lafevers, R. L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0547238673 ISBN 13: 9780547238678

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010

Synopsis

Nate Fludd is back in the camel saddle in pursuit of a missing, deadly basiliskā the King of Serpents. As if saving a Dhughani village from the beast isnā t hard enough, Nate and Aunt Phil must begin to solve the mystery of his parentsā disappearance and protect The Fludd Book of Beasts from a sinister man who always seems to be one step ahead of them. This is the perfect adventure for boys and girls not quite ready for longer texts.

About this title

About the Authors

R. L. LaFevers grew up in Los Angeles surrounded by a wide variety of beasts (besides her brothers).

Visit her website at www.rllafevers.com.

 

Kelly Murphy grew up surrounded by swamps and marshes that she explored with her six other siblings in southern New England. If you'd like to see more of Kelly's work, please visit www.kelmurphy.com.

R. L. LaFevers grew up in Los Angeles surrounded by a wide variety of beasts (besides her brothers).

Visit her website at www.rllafevers.com.

 

Kelly Murphy grew up surrounded by swamps and marshes that she explored with her six other siblings in southern New England. If you'd like to see more of Kelly's work, please visit www.kelmurphy.com.

Reviews

Grade 3-5 Nate Fludd, budding beastologist, is back in an adventure even greater than his first. His Aunt Phil receives a telegram that a basilisk has escaped from the village of Bamako. The natives need her help, and soon Nate is racing on a camel, flying across the Sahara, and warding off crocodiles from a boat. Aunt Phil has two friendly weasels willing to do battle with the basilisk, and Nate's troublemaking pet, Greasle, accompanies him every step of the way. The basilisk is terrifying, with it's deadly venom and scales, and Nate musters all his courage to fight it and continues to wonder who freed the beast and what happened to his parents, who disappeared in Flight of the Phoenix (Houghton, 2009). Children who enjoyed the first book will not be disappointed by the sequel, and those new to the series can easily pick up the story line. The action is nonstop, and the elements of fantasy, mystery, and humor will appeal to a wide audience. Murphy's spot art and occasional full-page drawings carry the action along nicely. Jane Cronkhite, Santa Clara County Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Picking up immediately where Flight of the Phoenix (2009) finished, Nathaniel Fludd, Aunt Phil, and the gremlin Greasel pursue an escaped Basilisk, the highly dangerous king of the Serpents. Despite his previous success in the field, Nathaniel is an uncertain beastologist, although wise Aunt Phil finds ways to incorporate Nathaniel's preexisting skills, such as his artistic abilities, as he hones his new ones. Familiarity with Nathaniel's previous adventure is helpful though not necessary, and fans can look forward to a return to Batting-at-the-Flies as the trio investigates the disappearance of Nathaniel's parents in the forthcoming volume. Grades 2-5. --Kara Dean

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

September 1928

Perched atop his camel, Nathaniel Fludd plodded through the desert sand. He did his best to ignore the merciless sun beating down on him.

Beastologist, he thought, trying out the title. I am a beastologist. One week ago, he’d been a castoff, unwanted by just about everybody. Now he was a beastologist-in-training. He imagined introducing himself. "Why yes, Nathaniel Fludd here. Pleased to meet you. What’s that? Oh, I’m a beastologist." The faces around him would look duly impressed.

Aunt Phil’s dry voice poked through his daydream. "This might be a good time to check your headings."

"What?"

"The headings?" she reminded him. "You’re supposed to be navigating the way back to Wadi Rumba."

Nate looked down at the compass in his hand. The needle pointed to the north, but there was no town where it should be. He shook the compass, hoping maybe that would help.

"It’s not stuck, Nate," Aunt Phil said. "Think. What did I tell you about north?"

"That the compass needle always points there?" He tried to keep the frustration out of his voice.

"And what else?"

Nate sighed. He was tired and his brain felt as fried as a breakfast egg from the heat of the Arabian sun. He wasn’t interested in learning how to navigate right now. All he wanted was someplace cool to lie down. And water—an entire tub full of ice cold water.

But Aunt Phil was relentless. Once she had gotten it in her head that Nate was to learn how to use the compass, that had been it. He was in charge of getting them back to Wadi Rumba. The problem was, he was failing miserably. He scrunched up his brain, trying to remember everything she’d told him. "Oh!" He remembered something. "Are we still above the equator? Because maybe I got that backwards."

Before Aunt Phil could answer, Greasle poked her head out of his rucksack. "Why’re we stopped here?"

Aunt Phil glanced at the tiny gremlin. "Just orienting ourselves," she said.

"Well, hurry up already," Greasle said, but softly, so Aunt Phil wouldn’t hear.

Nate glanced back at the compass. The needle had moved a few degrees to the east. He frowned at Greasle. "Get back in the pack. You’re making the needle jump again."

"Sorry," she muttered. "I likes it better in the pack anyway."

Nate immediately felt guilty for snapping at her. She was his best friend, after all. His only friend, really. And it wasn’t her fault they were off course. At least, he didn’t think it was her fault. "Could Greasle’s effect on the compass have put us off course?" he asked.

Aunt Phil shook her head. She didn’t look hot or tired at all. "No—as long as the gremlin stays in the pack where she belongs, she has no effect on the compass. We’re off course because you didn’t allow for the difference between true north and magnetic north."

"Oh yeah." He’d completely forgotten about that part. Nate looked around. Nothing but miles of sand and scorching heat. His first test at a true Fludd skill and he’d failed. But maybe now Aunt Phil would take over. He looked at her hopefully.

She shook her head. "No, Nate. We learn best from our mistakes. I’m willing to bet you’ll never forget the magnetic north differential again. However, in the interest of time, I will tell you that you need to adjust by four degrees to the east."

Nate grit his teeth, then set the outside ring on the compass four degrees to the east. As he looked up to reorient himself, he saw a cloud of dust coming toward them. "Look," he said.

Aunt Phil lifted the binoculars from around her neck. "Riders," she said after a moment. "Looking for us, it seems."

"How can you tell that?" he asked. Her skills never ceased to amaze him.

She lowered the binoculars and smiled. "Because they’re waving. Come on. Let’s ride out to meet them. They weren’t scheduled to come looking for us for another two days."

"Then why are they here?"

"That’s what I want to find out," she said. "Something must have come up."

Nate’s heart sank at the cheerful oh good, an exciting new disaster tone in his aunt’s voice. It could mean only one thing: trouble.

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0547238673
• ISBN 13: 9780547238678
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Murphy Kelly
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 149