  | Once upon a Tim (Once Upon a Tim) Author: Gibbs, Stuart | |
| Price: $19.08 | ||
Summary:
With no knightly experience but plenty of pluck and an impressive vocabulary, a twelve-year-old peasant, hoping to improve his station in life, volunteers to help a cowardly prince and his not very powerful wizard rescue a princess from an evil, foul-smelling monster.
| Illustrator: | Curtis, Stacy |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 4.80 Points: 3.0 Quiz: 515051 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (05/01/22)
School Library Journal (03/01/22)
Booklist (03/01/22)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 03/01/2022 Gr 3–5—A quest to save a princess turns out to be nothing like the fairy tales suggest. Narrated by Tim, a peasant boy with a surprisingly rich vocabulary and complete knowledge of all the things that don't exist in his world, this romp follows Tim and his best friend Belinda, who seize the opportunity to join Prince Ruprecht and Court Magician Nerlim as they head off to rescue Princess Grace (who, it turns out, doesn't actually need to be rescued). Along for the adventure are Ferkle the Village Idiot (only pretending because it's the family business) and Rover, Tim's Fr-dog (an enormous frog who was once a dog… oh, it's a long story). The prince isn't brave, the magician can only do card tricks, and the monster isn't so very monstrous. Along with the enhanced vocabulary and extreme silliness, there is discussion of societal expectations. All characters are cued as white. VERDICT Will kids understand all of the references? Possibly not, but the humor, enhanced by Quentin Blake-esque illustrations, will definitely find an audience with kids looking for a quick, funny read.—Mara Alpert - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 03/01/2022 Tim and his friend Belinda (disguised as a boy), two peasants during the Middle Ages, seize an opportunity to become knights by accompanying a cowardly prince and his ineffectual wizard on an expedition to save a princess from the dreaded Stinx that has captured her. After an action-packed journey through the Forest of Doom, down The River of Doom, and across the Chasm of Doom, they reach the Stinx’s lair. Gibbs peppers his prose with entertaining side comments as well as “IQ boosters,” explaining terms such as malodorous, iconoclast, and infinitesimal, while maintaining the pace of the narrative. This giddy romp through a medieval setting, complete with menacing trolls and gigantic, bloodthirsty butterflies, is the start of a promising series from the author of Spy School (2012) and its sequels. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
