When the kindly old aunts decide that they need help caring for creatures who live on their hidden island, they know that adults can't be trusted. What they need are a few special children who can keep a secret-a secret as big as a magical island. And what better way to get children who can keep really big secrets, than to kidnap them! (After all, some children just plain need to be kidnapped.) Don't miss this wildly inventive and funny read from master storyteller Eva Ibbotson.
"Readers will not be able to put [Island of the Aunts] down! A fine choice for fantasy lovers." (School Library Journal, starred review)
"Eva Ibbotson does magic, humor, and fantasy for ages 8 to 88+, and you'll wish her books were never-ending, so enchanting are her characters and fiendishly funny her plots!" (Book Sense)
Author Biography: Eva Ibbotson is the author of books published to wide acclaim in Great Britain and the U.S. (She has a daughter and three sons, who showed her that children like to read about ghosts, wizards, and witches "because they are just like people but madder and more interesting.")
Publishers Weekly
As in her earlier popular fantasies, Ibbotson (Which Witch?; The Secret of Platform 13) once again brews a delicious mix of magic, humor and adventure. "Kidnapping children is not a good idea. All the same, sometimes it has to be done," begins her latest novel, set on a remote island. The island's caretakers--three eccentric, kindly aunts who are getting on in years--need younger, able-bodied helpers to continue their mission: tending the injuries of unusual creatures (gigantic birds, talking seals, mermaids, etc.) who have been harmed by mankind. Resorting to desperate measures, the trio travels to the mainland to kidnap suitable candidates ("Of course it won't be a real kidnap because we shan't ask the parents for ransom"). Two of the abducted children are not sorry to leave home; they become fond of the island creatures and their captors almost immediately. But the brattiest, most spoiled of the three is intent on returning to the comforts of his mansion. Tension mounts when the children's whereabouts are discovered, putting at risk the island creatures' privacy and safety. The author's exquisite sense of humor plus an imaginative and memorable cast of characters make this a rollicking escapade with a timeless moral about respecting nature. Final artwork not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Categories:
- Children's Books
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Fantasy & Magic
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
Publisher : Puffin Books
Author : Ibbotson, Eva
Language : English
Edition : Reprint
Published :2001-09-10
Number Of Pages : 281
Binding : paperback
ISBN-10 : 0142300497
ISBN-13 : 9780142300497
Item weight : 0.49 lb
Dimensions : 0.94 in x 5.04 in x 7.72 in
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