The Young Inferno - Hardcover

Agard, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1845077695 ISBN 13: 9781845077693

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2009

Synopsis

Can our hoodie-clad hero make it through the nine circles of Hell and back again? Will he find love with his soul mate, Beatrice? In this red-hot retelling of Dante’s Inferno, readers discover the city of Dis, where everybody disses everybody; meet Frankenstein, the lovesick bouncer with the bling; come face-to-face with the Furies, a gang of T-shirt-wearing, snake-haired females; and encounter a host of gluttons, bigots, and plunderers from the world of history and politics. Rich with lively references, from Shakespeare and Wagner to the Bible and Beauty and the Beast, The Young Inferno updates Dante’s 14th-century masterpiece for a 21st-century audience. John Agard, one of the funniest and most popular poets in Britain today, offers an ambitious, energetic retelling in verse that sings with wit and originality while remaining true to the original text. Satoshi Kitamura’s deliciously wicked, avant-garde artwork is a brilliant depiction of Dante’s vision, and a delight for readers young and old.

About this title

About the Author

John Agard is an award-winning British poet. He is the author of many children's books, including The Young Inferno. He lives in Lewes, U.K.Satoshi Kitamura was born in Tokyo and has written and illustrated 20 of his own books and illustrated many more. He also translates children's books into Japanese and divides his time between London and Japan.

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 8 Up—The narrative poems in this short book are accessible and have important things to say about the state of the human race. "Off 2 Hell with teacher Aesop" reads a text message the hoodie-wearing protagonist composes in his head for his parents. As in a scary movie, he awakens in a strange and frightening forest. A dark man appears and introduces himself as the tale-teller Aesop: he is to be the teen's escort through Hell (much like Dante used the poet Virgil as his guide). As the pair travels through the Circles of Hell, they see the sins of mankind. They see the gluttons forced to stuff their faces for eternity and those who were indifferent stung by wasps and flies. They also see scientists and artists such as Einstein, Homer, and Euclid forced for eternity to repeat some aspect of their creation. The pair visits the city of Dis, where "everybody disses everybody." As our hero travels through Hell, he is trying to find his Good Fairy, his Beatrice. Some British terms might make a few sections a little tricky for American students, but savvy readers should be able to figure them out. The scribbled, heavy-lined black ink and watercolor illustrations convey exactly the right mood for a book about a modern-day expedition into Hell. This will be a great book to pair with a discussion about Dante's Inferno and/or poetic structure.—Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO
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Edition details

• Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1845077695
• ISBN 13: 9781845077693
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 80
• Illustrator: Kitamura Satoshi