  | Elf dog and owl head Author: Anderson, M. T. | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
Clay has had his fill of home life. A global pandemic has brought the world to a screeching halt, and with little to look forward to but a summer of video-calling friends, vying with annoying sisters for the family computer, and tuning out his parents' financial worries. He's only too happy to retreat to the woods where he finds a mysterious dog who leads him down unknown paths in the forest to uncover secrets, traps, and terrors.
| Illustrator: | Wu, Junyi |
Download a Teacher's Guide| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 4.80 Points: 6.0 Quiz: 521867 |
Awards:
Newbery Honor, 2024
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (02/01/23)
School Library Journal (+) (11/24/23)
Booklist (02/15/23)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/02/23)
The Hornbook (00/03/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 02/15/2023 Anderson positions his breezy new fantasy in the present primarily through the pervasive presence of “the sickness,” which has citizens living in boredom-generating quarantine. Online school is a joke and a summer without friends isn’t looking much better—and family time lost its luster ages ago. But when Clay stumbles upon a lost dog—sleek and white, except for the bright red interior of her ears—everything begins to change. Clay instinctively knows that she is a royal elf-hound. What he doesn’t know is that she belongs to the unpleasant People Under the Mountain and is trained to hunt all manner of monsters. With Elphinore the elf-hound by his side, Clay’s summer becomes one of wonder, as she is able to follow paths invisible to the human eye. This is how he becomes friends with an owl-headed boy named Amos and very nearly gets his family cursed. This playful romp pulls magic into the mundane and gives regular kids the chance to be heroes while Wu’s cross-hatched pencil illustrations dust the proceedings with further enchantment. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 11/24/2023 Gr 3–5—Anderson brings to life the magical world found in Mount Norumbega, in this stand-alone novel. Clay O'Brian is tired of the virus that has forced him to stay home away from friends and enjoys the time he spends in the wilderness exploring. When elf-dog Elphinore is locked out from her home beneath the mountain, she comes across Clay in the woods and their adventures together begin. Elphinore is the reason Clay befriends an owl-headed boy named Amos, while Clay's older sister DiRossi forms an unlikely friendship with a sad, blue giant named Vud. At the Midsummer Night Festival, when the magical worlds intertwine, the newfound friends will discover whether their bond can withstand strict, fantastical rules. Wu's illustrations throughout are black-and-white pencil, which adds to the otherworldly quality of the plot. While the story has magical lands and creatures, the backdrop of the COVID-19 shutdown grounds the action in something relatable. The O'Brian family's stress about becoming ill, paying bills, and finding work allows room to explore the trauma of the pandemic. At times, the world-building is underdeveloped, but the engrossing presentation of the different worlds will draw readers in. Other than Anderson's companion series, "Norumbegan Quartet," comparable titles include Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black's "Spiderwick Chronicles" and The Demon Sword Asperides by Sarah Jean Horwitz. VERDICT A stellar novel with read-aloud potential, this whimsically imaginative adventure will thrill those who want magic mixed with reality.—Hilary Tufo - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
