Review of the Day: Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat (Part Two)
(CONTINUED FROM PART TWO)
There are also some convenient plot devices that raised an eyebrow but weren’t really distracting. Apparently when you shrink, your clothes shrink along with you (as opposed to in "The Dark Ground" by Gillian Cross). Also, Jonell requires that you remember some pretty minor characters from the beginning of the book all the way to the end, which I thought was a bit odd. I liked the internal logic going on here, though. I liked the peculiar world Jonell had envisioned and how neatly everything slotted into it. I can guarantee to you that if you’ve a child who has read the oeuvre of Roald Dahl and wants a little something extra, "Emmy" is a good way to go. Ideal for any child who has felt ignored or looked over at some point in their life. Which is to say, most every child.
Notes on the Cover: I’d think I may be biased, seeing as how blown away I was by The Apple Pie That Papa Baked. Then again, I wasn’t a huge fan of Bean’s work on The Runaway Princess, so that may even things out. In any case, I love this cover. It’s eminently stylish with understated colors and a beautiful sense of design. You know what? I’m ah-gonna break out the "C-word". It’s the cover you’d give to a Classic. I hereby hand it the N.M. Bodecker Award of 2007. When covers are examined 100 years from now, it’s this book jacket that will have aged well.
First Line: "Emmy was a good girl."
Other Blog Reviews: Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast (a must read, if ever there was one) and Fairrosa’s Journal.
Misc:
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Consider taking in Ms. Jonell’s website.
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This interview with Ms. Jonell.
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And finally, Jonathan Bean’s website too.
Filed under: Reviews
About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Kirkus, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social
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I think I spotted this book the other day. When you flip the pages, illustrations of the rat appear to fall down the side of the page. Definitely a classic cover–well put.
You are exactly right on the Ramona Quimby nod–and the first I’ve seen pick up on it! Glad you had a fun read.
Yesssssssssssssssss! Woo-hoo, woo-hoo, woo-hoo!!!
Now, now. Find the tip of the hat to Sir Walter Scott and you can really celebrate.
Well, my “woo-hoo”s were really twofold. On the one hand I was happy to get the reference (particularly as I missed approximately 72 Odysseus allusions when I reviewed the book “Leepike Ridge” recently). And on the other hand, you saw my review and commented on it, which pleases me more than anything else. So, as I said before, woo-hoo! I now need to go scour your book for a Sir Walter Scott nod. Hmmmmmmm.
Scour away, but you’d have to have read one of his Waverly novels (Redgauntlet)to get the reference. It’s more of a private joke than anything… but you’re a sport to be up for the challenge!