Bound To Stay Bound

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School Library Journal - 03/01/2012 Gr 3–5—Muncle Trogg comes from a family of giants, but he doesn't look like his relatives. He is teased and ridiculed for being as short as a Smalling (human), and even his own brother, Gritt, enjoys holding him upside down. When Muncle and his classmates visit a Smalling Museum, he tries on Smalling clothing and is fascinated to find that it fits. Wise Man to the King, Biblios, suggests that he wear the clothes to the king's upcoming birthday party, and Muncle uses this opportunity to sneak off to the Smalling town to learn more about the humans. There, he meets and befriends a girl named Emily, and when she is kidnapped by the Giants, it is up to Muncle to rescue her. Foxley has constructed a whimsical tale full of flying dragons, wart-covered giants, and a miniature giant with a heart of gold. Expressive black-and-white drawings further allow readers to enjoy this funny romp. There are rumblings of further installments in store as Mount Grumble (actually a volcano) looks ready to explode, and an animated feature film is in the works.—Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA - Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 04/01/2012 Ten-year-old giant Muncle Trogg is exceedingly small for his age; in fact, he is the size of a “Smalling,” the giants’ term for human beings, whom they loathe and fear thanks to the Smallings’ “killing sticks.” Muncle’s size comes in handy when he decides to sneak into the Smallings’ community to learn how to read so that he can find out the meaning of the Smallings’ Book of Magic that lies in the giants’ museum. His plan fails, but it brings him into contact with a kind human girl, Emily. When Emily is kidnapped by another giant, Muncle comes to her rescue, saving both Emily and the giants’ community, as the humans come perilously close to discovering the giants’ mountain home while they search for the missing girl. Muncle’s heroic acts lead him to be named the next Wise Man, and the book ends with a hint that a sequel may be in the works: Muncle begins to realize that the giants’ mountain may actually be a volcano, something he has learned about from Emily. Foxley’s imaginative topsy-turvy world of giants (in which ugly is beautiful and disgusting is delicious) will intrigue middle-grade readers, and her crisp writing and quick pacing will keep kids flicking pages. There’s not a lot of depth to the characterizations here, but it’s the action that drives this novel anyway, and Muncle is an endearing and sympathetic hero to whom many similarly bullied youngsters will relate. Readers who appreciate Roald Dahl’s fantastical novels may particularly enjoy this British import. Full-page monochromatic illustrations appear approximately once per chapter, and their blend of scribbled lines and wide-eyed exaggeration adds to the easygoing humor. JH - Copyright 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Booklist - 05/01/2012 Unnaturally small of stature but more courageous and far brighter than his thick-headed clan, an undersize giant ventures into the world of the feared “Smallings” in this lightweight British farce. Harassed by his much larger “little” brother at home and by both bullies and teachers at school, 10-year-old Muncle is eager to prove himself. Among other adventures, he sneaks away from his hidden mountain colony in captured human clothes for a brief visit to a modern town, becomes the first giant in generations to ride a flying dragon, triumphs in the annual Burps ’n’ Farts Competition at the king’s birthday party, and even rescues a kidnapped human girl from the clutches of spoiled Princess Puglug. Bald, pop-eyed, and with the general proportions of a Palmer Cox Brownie, Muncle cuts a comically shrimpy figure in O’Kif’s pen-and-ink vignettes and occasional full-page drawings. But there’s more to him than meets the eye—as readers, and even his Brobdingnagian brethren, come to realize by the end. Surefire fare for Cressida Cowell and Philip Ardagh fans. - Copyright 2012 Booklist.

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