APRIL 2021 - AudioFile
An ensemble cast creates this madcap theatrical adventure, set in Victorian England. Author David Walliams is the main narrator. Melodramatic weeping, threats, and hurrahing are paired with rousing music as Elsie and Dottie, an unlikely but compatible pair of lower-class Londoners, encounter one dangerous event after another with the Royal Navy, a big-game hunter, and a mad scientist. Elsie is a wily street urchin, always ready to hatch a plan in a high-pitched, insistent voice. Dottie is the goofy-voiced, often-bewildered cleaning lady who works at the Natural History Museum. With a ragtag crew they liberate a newly discovered woolly mammoth. A variety of British accents and the sounds of horses, street barkers, and newspaper boys help set the scenes. L.T. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
03/15/2021
In this bombastic illustrated adventure set in 1899 London, a 10-year-old orphan named Elsie helps revive a 10,000-year-old woolly mammoth from suspended animation, kicking off a series of madcap events across the city and onto the high seas. After running away from the physically and emotionally abusive Wormly Hall: Home for Unwanted Children, where the children are forced to eat cockroaches for every meal, Elsie is drawn to the exhibits of the Natural History Museum. There, she helps a strange old professor hiding in the basement to revive the newest exhibit, a baby mammoth she names Woolly. Determined to save Woolly from a life of captivity and study, Elsie and her newest friend, a professional cleaner named Dotty, must do everything in their power to elude pursuit—even if it means stealing a historic ship and heading for the North Pole. Ross’s b&w doodles highlight the characters’ fluid, nonstop action. Descriptions of the urchins’ lives, including ruthless beatings and endless classist insults, strike a seriously discomfiting note, but Walliams peppers this frenetic, sometimes anachronistic tale with plenty of scatological humor, resulting in a chaotic slapstick comedy. Ages 8–12. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
"A chaotic slapstick comedy." — Publishers Weekly
PRAISE IN THE USA FOR GRANDPA’S GREAT ESCAPE: ”A realistic and touching relationship. Ample illustrations from the always splendid Ross will keep the pages in this plump volume turning. A Dahl-esque tale.” — Kirkus Reviews
“While the irreverent wit will keep readers engaged, the surprising tenderness in the relationship between Jack and his ailing grandfather is what makes this book truly shine. A darkly humorous tale with a surprising amount of heart.” — School Library Journal
PRAISE IN THE USA FOR DEMON DENTIST: “A Brit-flavored romp that combines moments of intense terror and bracing courage with biting satire.” — Kirkus Reviews
“A Dahl-esque mix of humor and horror that will appeal to fans of both.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“A goofy, gory, outlandish tale of deep evil and terrible tooth-rot—and sweetness of heart. Kids who enjoy humorous gross-out horror will definitely want to book an appointment of their own with the Demon Dentist.” — Wall Street Journal
“Dahl-esque in the extreme…Frenetic humor for middle grade fans of the funny and fearsome.” — School Library Journal
“Ross’s energetic drawings and some playful use of typography bring additional drama and humor to the story. The story’s comedy is nicely counterbalanced by the poignant bond between Jack and Grandpa.” — Publishers Weekly
UK PRAISE FOR DAVID WALLIAMS: “No one has any business being as talented as David Walliams. He is the heir to Roald Dahl—and that’s saying a lot.” — The Spectator
“Unlike other celebrity authors, Walliams can write; his energetic fairytale will be relished.” — The Times (London)
“The joy of David’s books are that he completely understands how children think and feel and is never ever patronising.” — The Sun (UK)
“Further proof that Walliams has become a master storyteller. Walliams manages to infuse his novels with genuine wit and sly commentary.” — Heat Magazine
“Comedian David Walliams has taken the publishing world by storm.” — The Metro
“A triumphant mix of wit and warmth.” — Telegraph
“A great comic tale—Walliams is a natural wit.” — Evening Standard (London)
“Walliams’s books will become classics.” — The Guardian
Wall Street Journal
A goofy, gory, outlandish tale of deep evil and terrible tooth-rot—and sweetness of heart. Kids who enjoy humorous gross-out horror will definitely want to book an appointment of their own with the Demon Dentist.
The Times (London)
Unlike other celebrity authors, Walliams can write; his energetic fairytale will be relished.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
A Dahl-esque mix of humor and horror that will appeal to fans of both.
The Spectator
UK PRAISE FOR DAVID WALLIAMS: “No one has any business being as talented as David Walliams. He is the heir to Roald Dahl—and that’s saying a lot.
Wall Street Journal
A goofy, gory, outlandish tale of deep evil and terrible tooth-rot—and sweetness of heart. Kids who enjoy humorous gross-out horror will definitely want to book an appointment of their own with the Demon Dentist.
The Guardian
Walliams’s books will become classics.
Telegraph
A triumphant mix of wit and warmth.
The Metro
Comedian David Walliams has taken the publishing world by storm.
Heat Magazine
Further proof that Walliams has become a master storyteller. Walliams manages to infuse his novels with genuine wit and sly commentary.
The Sun (UK)
The joy of David’s books are that he completely understands how children think and feel and is never ever patronising.
Evening Standard (London)
A great comic tale—Walliams is a natural wit.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
A Dahl-esque mix of humor and horror that will appeal to fans of both.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
A Dahl-esque mix of humor and horror that will appeal to fans of both.
School Library Journal
03/26/2021
Gr 4–6—Readers should buckle their seatbelts for Walliams's new novel, a fast-paced and funny story about a young girl and a woolly mammoth. All of the characters are introduced at the outset, but the star of the story is a spirited, resourceful, homeless orphan named Elsie. It's 1899, and 10-year-old Elsie, who is white, has just run away from the cruel headmistress at Wormly Hall. She is living on the streets of London when she hears about the discovery of a 10,000-year-old woolly mammoth. Elsie sneaks into London's Natural History Museum, the mammoth's new home, and connects with Woolly, who is as "lost and alone" as she is. The following pages are rich with onomatopoeia, hyperbolic adventures, and narrow escapes. Elsie and her new friend Dotty, a kindly cleaning woman at the museum, join forces with a group of retired soldiers to confront a devious villain and bumbling police officers as they outwit their pursuers—and return Woolly safely to the North Pole via the HMS Victory. VERDICT A tale with twists and turns, references to British landmarks, and lots of heart, this title will appeal to reluctant readers and fans of prehistoric animals.—Shelley Sommer, Inly Sch., Scituate, MA
APRIL 2021 - AudioFile
An ensemble cast creates this madcap theatrical adventure, set in Victorian England. Author David Walliams is the main narrator. Melodramatic weeping, threats, and hurrahing are paired with rousing music as Elsie and Dottie, an unlikely but compatible pair of lower-class Londoners, encounter one dangerous event after another with the Royal Navy, a big-game hunter, and a mad scientist. Elsie is a wily street urchin, always ready to hatch a plan in a high-pitched, insistent voice. Dottie is the goofy-voiced, often-bewildered cleaning lady who works at the Natural History Museum. With a ragtag crew they liberate a newly discovered woolly mammoth. A variety of British accents and the sounds of horses, street barkers, and newspaper boys help set the scenes. L.T. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
