Hatched (The Enchanted Files Series #2)

by Bruce Coville

Overview

If you liked the movies Elf and Shrek, you’ll love THE ENCHANTED FILES—a magical, hilarious comedy series about fantastical creatures in the modern world by the bestselling author of My Teacher Is an Alien: Bruce Coville!
 
Meet Gerald. Gerald is a griffin—a creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. According to the Code of the Griffins, that means he should be:
 
1. Brave and fierce in all situations!
2. A guardian of a great treasure!
3. Completely and totally hidden from the humans!
 
But what if a griffin ISN’T brave or fierce? What if he’s NEVER found a great treasure (or ANY treasure, for that matter)? What if he feels like such an embarrassment that the only thing left for him to do is run away? And what if the only place no one will look for him is . . . the human world?
 
“Bruce Coville is a wizard at telling stories.” —Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon
 
“Hilarious. Middle-grade readers will be carried along by the buoyancy of the writing, the skillful design, and the humor on almost every page. Egg-ceptionally funny!” —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780385392587
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/19/2017
Series:	Enchanted Files Series , #2
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	840L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

BRUCE COVILLE is the author of over 100 books for children and young adults, including the bestseller My Teacher Is an Alien and the wildly popular Unicorn Chronicles series. Visit him at BruceCoville.com.

Editorial Reviews

Coville brings his signature wit and humor to this fantasy story. This second installment adds authentic and engaging, multidimensional characters to a strong series that finds heroes in outcasts.” —School Library Journal
 
Praise for Cursed, the first book in THE ENCHANTED FILES:
 
* “Coville brings it off with wit, style, and respect. The first volume of the Enchanted Files series is smart, amusing, and a lot of fun.” —Booklist, Starred
 
“A knee-slapper.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

10/01/2016
Gr 4–6—Gerald Overflight is a poetry-writing, cowardly griffin whose anxiety and siblings get the best of him. Griffins are supposed to be fierce, regal, and fearless, but Gerald defies typical griffin stereotypes. The first egg laid but the last to hatch, he runs away when even his father states that he is ashamed of his son. With the prodding of Master Abelard, a gnome with ulterior motives, Gerald soon enters the world of humans, where he befriends Brad Ashango. Despite their obvious differences, the two soon discover their similarities, establishing trust and confidence and ultimately saving a secret community of gnomes. Coville brings his signature wit and humor to this fantasy story. The text is composed of diary entries, letters, articles from enchanted books, and more, forcing readers to independently put the pieces together. The inclusion of the personal writings of Gerald, Master Abelard, and Brad allows for strong character development. The only major flaw is the rushed climax and falling action, which feel abrupt and too easily accomplished. However, this second installment adds authentic and engaging, multidimensional characters to a strong series that finds heroes in outcasts. VERDICT Recommended for medium and large middle grade collections looking to add high-interest fantasy.—Mary-Brook J. Townsend, Episcopal Collegiate School, Little Rock, AK

School Library Journal

A full cast, including the author and audio luminaries such as Jayne Entwistle, Kirby Heyborne, Scott Brick, Paul Boehmer, and Arthur Morey, joins narrators Matthew Frow and Jeremy Gumbs, enlarging the humor in this story. The featured character is a poetry-writing griffin named Gerald, whose anxiety often gets the better of him. The story is told by Gerald and his human friend, Brad, mostly in diary format. The variety of voices helps listeners identify each of the many characters. Themes of bullying and finding one’s place in the world are common threads in Coville’s writing, and the narrators do a good job keeping these weighty issues light and entertaining while driving home the need for kindness and compassion. S.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

2016-07-26
The same team who introduced the Enchanted Realm in Diary of a Mad Brownie (2015; now retitled Cursed) presents a second go-round for the delectation of middle-grade fantasy readers.Gerald Overflight, a griffin, has run away from home, driven by his siblings’ constant bullying and, the final blow, his father’s true feelings about him. He flies off, accompanied by his teacher, the tricky Master Abelard, who has his own reasons for breaking a boatload of the Realm’s rules. Readers will delight in the tribulations endured by this sensitive griffin, his new friend, the human Bradley Ashango, and the assortment of creatures who, willy-nilly, are sucked into the matrix of their activities. The strength of this story is in showing Gerald’s and Brad’s parallel growth, a slow process that solidly underpins the hilarious (occasionally slapstick) story. Readers learn what’s going on through the dark-skinned Brad’s journal, Gerald’s diary, Master Abelard’s notebook, newspaper articles, and various documents that shed light on both cultures, human and mythic. Most of the satire provides blameless amusement with the exception of a few cheap shots at political correctness in a list of “Forbidden Topics at the University Enchantica.” Middle-grade readers will be carried along by the buoyancy of the writing, the skillful design, and the humor on almost every page. Egg-ceptionally funny! (Fantasy. 8-11)

Kirkus Review