Have you been unexpectedly burdened by a recently orphaned or unclaimed creature? Worry not! We have just the solution for you!
Mira Bartok, The Wonderling
Number 13 is an eleven-year-old groundling trapped at Miss Carbunkle’s Home for Warward and Misbegotten Creatures. Number 13 has lived at the Home for as long as he can remember and spends every day drearily toiling away for Miss Carbunkle and trying to avoid bullies. When Number 13 makes a friend – Trinket – he is given the new name Arthur and a new dream: Arthur and Trinket are going to escape and seek their own destinies. Arthur and Trinket are groundlings – animals with human-like qualities. On their adventures, they must avoid pursuit by Miss Carbunkle’s henchman, as well as the dangers of the wider world with which Arthur is totally unfamiliar.
Bartok builds a charming world with talking animals, steampunk contraptions and adventures around every corner. The setting feels very Victorian and the heroes are plucky and sweet but the villains were my favorites – I think stories are so much more compelling when an author can give some dimension and interest to the “bad guys”. Bartok also includes beautiful illustrations with the novel that add to her rich descriptions of Arthur’s world. It is a coming-of-age story as Arthur sets off from the Home in search of his own story and meets both friends and dangers along his way. While there are enough unique aspects to the story to keep it interesting, there are also a lot of familiar elements that young readers can latch onto. If you are picking this up for a younger reader, it would be well suited for middle to upper elementary or it would make a great read-aloud for younger ones.
Little Ms Word Smith 