July 9, 2007
The fertile partnership of Stewart and Riddell (The Edge Chronicles
) has produced a fine canon of Monty Python
-esque fantasy nonsense, but the silliness is taken to new heights in this charming comedy. Randalf the Wise, the only wizard in Muddle Earth, casts a spell to conjure a warrior hero and, not being a particularly gifted wizard, ends up summoning young Joe Jefferson and his dog. Along with his sarcastic budgie, Veronica, and cowardly troll, Norbert the Not-Very-Big, Randolph brings Joe to Muddle Earth’s ruler, the Horned Baron, who hires the boy to defeat the ogre Engelbert the Enormous. Engelbert is upset, because his beloved “snuggly-wuggly” has gone missing, and Joe’s gentle touch and quick thinking save the day. Unfortunately, the spell that Randalf needs to send Joe back home is in the hands of the evil Dr. Cuddles, a criminal mastermind who lives in an adorable little cottage in Giggle Glade. From there things become even sillier, with sentient silverware, a kidnapped queen no one wants to rescue and a vicious-looking dragon who turns out to be perfectly nice. Stewart’s plotting and dialogue are squarely in the anything-can-happen realm of Douglas Adams; Riddell’s pen-and-ink illustrations are perfectly suited to the tone of the book. This is a big, goofy, laugh-out-loud delight. Ages 10-up.
September 1, 2007
Gr 4-6-One minute young Joe Jefferson is trying to figure out what to write for his English assignment, "My Amazing Adventure," and the next thing he knows both he and his dog have been pulled into the world of Muddle Earth by the incompetent magician Randalf the Wise. Joe has been summoned to be the official warrior-hero of the realm, and that means going head-to-head with malicious Dr. Cuddles. Cuddles, it seems, has captured all of the local wizards and is forcing them to do his evil bidding. It's up to our hero and his ragtag team of new friends to defeat the villain and free the wizards before Cuddles has a chance to conquer Muddle Earth. Bathroom humor and potty jokes abound in this tepid tale. Rather than a straight out-and-out parody of Tolkien's stories of Middle Earth (which might have been preferable), Stewart's tale references those stories rarely, if ever. The whole enterprise feels more like an excuse to try out some random fantasy tropes without ever using them in an inventive fashion. In short, the madcap adventures and humorous moments could stand to be a lot more madcap and humorous."Elizabeth Bird, New York Public Library"
Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 1, 2007
Young Joe Jefferson is putting off his homework by walking his dog when he tumbles down a long tunnel into a strange world, to which he has been summoned as a warrior-hero. Before he can return home, he must defeat the nefarious Dr. Cuddles. With that as the chief villains name, its easy to see that this is not a true Tolkienesque fantasy, though there are plenty of superficial references to the trilogy, from the books title to the presence of wizard, elf, and dragon characters to the spell that begins One teaspoon to rule them all. The derivations, or tributes, dont stop there. Even the rather original idea of Muddle Earths enchanted lake that floats high in the air is reminiscent of the floating city, Sanctaphrax, in Stewart and Riddells long-running Edge Chronicles series. Nicely illustrated throughout with ink drawings, this often-silly fantasy will appeal to that group of readers who are old enough to read a 400-page novel yet young enough to be amused by the many references to underpants.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2008
In this fantasy adventure, Randalf, a feckless and incompetent wizard of Muddle Earth, summons ordinary schoolboy Joe and guides him to become Joe the Barbarian--a reluctant (to say the least) warrior-hero. Energetic black-and-white line drawings help break up the lengthy text, which, though initially buoyed by its slapstick humor and wordplay, is ultimately dragged down by them.
(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)