Rare Beasts (1) (Edgar & Ellen) - Hardcover

Ogden, Charles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1416914099 ISBN 13: 9781416914099

Publisher: Aladdin, 2006

Synopsis

Fire ants. Fraud. Footie pajamas.

Twins Edgar and Ellen live alone -- their parents disappeared years ago, and who can blame them? -- in the quaint, little town of Nod's Limbs, in a grim, gray house overlooking the cemetery and the junkyard. They spend their days avoiding Heimertz, the mysterious accordion-playing caretaker; pestering Pet, a hairy, one-eyed creature of indeterminate species and gender; and wreaking havoc on the hapless citizens of Nod's Limbs.

But wreaking havoc can incur expenses, so the twins come up with a unique fund-raising scheme: They'll nab the pets of Nod's Limbs and transform them into exotic animals they can sell for big bucks. Not a bad plan, if one of the purloined pets wasn't a lethargic python with a raging appetite....

About this title

Review

Young twins Edgar and Ellen make the Grinch look positively benevolent. Living alone in a spooky house in the town of Nod's Limbs (their parents are on an extended around-the-world holiday), the bug-eyed, matted-haired, disturbingly pale siblings amuse themselves by plotting dreadful schemes to torture the townspeople. Inspired by a TV show about the value of exotic animals, they decide to steal all the local pets, decorate them with old Christmas ornaments (Grinchy enough for ye?), and sell them at market price. If they became very rich from the proceeds, they could spray the soccer fields with fizzy cola from a hang glider, or erect a giant windmill to blow manure all over town, or buy a whole carnival and not let anyone else enjoy the games and rides! As they skulk around Nod's Limbs with giant sacks, they find it surprisingly easy to snatch puppies, kittens, bunnies, hamsters, and even a Burmese python. Let the basement transformation to Uggprons and Snifflepops begin! They lull themselves to sleep that night with the sound of weeping children mourning the loss of their beloved pets, "a steady, groaning noise rising up from the world outside." It seems that fans of the comic-goth genre (Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events and Holly Black's Spiderwick Chronicles) have another series in which to wallow, this time where the child protagonists are not victims but predators. Rick Carton's funny, artful pen-and-ink illustrations perfectly capture the Addams family feel of the story, from the pleading eyes of the neighborhood pets in the darkness of the "exotic animal emporium" cart to the tiny Turkle boys crawling through sewer pipes in the desperate search for their pet. (Ages 8 and older) --Karin Snelson

About the Author

Charles Ogden is an avid camper and fisherman. He collects insects and has traveled in pursuit of various specimens to the North Pole, the Souh Pole, and Poland. Mr. Ogden and his insect collection make their home in a cool, dry, preservation-friendly environment, far removed from prying eyes.

Rick Carton has been drawing longer than he's been walking. In his Chicago studio he has a cherished collection of every pencil ever worn down to a nub during his lengthy artistic career. He has never formally studed art; instead, the art community has diligently studied him. They are yet to release their findings.

About this edition

• Publisher: Aladdin
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1416914099
• ISBN 13: 9781416914099
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144
• Illustrator: Carton Rick