Butterfingers

by J.M. Trewellard, Ian Beck (Illustrator)

PRINCESS BELLA HAS been snatched from her secret garden by a terrifying monster, leaving behind nothing but a glittering golden ball. Not even the bravest knights in the kingdom can save her from the huge, dark, firebreathing creature with enormous wings, a great swishing tail, and deadly claws. But clumsy Ned, the stable boy, is determined to succeed where the gallant knights have failed. Can he defeat the dragon and get the girl? Or will he let the chance to become a hero slip through his butterfingers? Join our unlikely hero and his animal friends on their daring quest across the plain, through the woods, and into the mountains to find out. . . .

Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Middle Grade, Dragons, High Fantasy, Childrens

201 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kristen Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly cute book about a clumsy stable boy who helps to save a princess from a dragon. Definitely for children between 2nd and 4th grade and was amusing, but not the greatest book I've read lately. Cute illustrations though.

[CC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Be brief. Reviews should be between 125 – 175 words (mine are often
shorter than this).
• Typical reviews discuss themes, character development, plot or setting.
• Comment on style, structure, illustrations, format, binding or accuracy.
• Compare with similar books, earlier editions or series.
• Discuss appropriateness for intended audience.
• Explain why the book deserves the Rating it received.
• Be critical and emphatic in your evaluation if necessary. Publishers
should know that we will not purchase mediocre materials.

The ratings are
R* Recommended. Superior book: everyone should buy
R Recommended. Superior in style, liveliness, integrity, and format.
AD+ Additional. Competent good solid book but has flaws.
AD Additional. Competent but is or will be excelled in its field by other books
AD- Competent but mediocre
M Marginal. Contains so many weaknesses that it might not be
considered for purchase only as supplementary material in its field or
to meet special localized subject needs.
NR Not recommended. Reject, does not meet library standards in style,
content and/or design
NR* Not recommended. Appropriate for another kind of collection, age level.

2. To submit your reviews electronically, create a word document with
the authors last name, first title then your review below.
Email Venta Silins (vsilins@uwb.edu) before the next month's meeting.
Do not have any formatting in the document. Please BCC me on your reviews.
(This way if you have orals I can read them for you).

3. If you reviewed written books, you don't need to give me the one(s) you
are keeping. I need the filled out white slips (rating, grade
level(range i.e. K-2)),
your information and in the blank space 'review emailed' and note on
it that you are keeping the book as a 2-for-1 so they know why it
isn't there).

4. Write the grade level range, recommendation and date on the inside cover
of the books you are returning.

5. Return the books, filled white sheets and reviews by the 1st Thursday
of the next month.

6. In the Google Excel Doc enter how many books you want, etc. *Make sure
you are on the correct page - look at the month on the bottom*

I should be in the GA Office on most days, but if I'm not there you can always
leave the books at my desk (right next to the printer)

Following are two of my past reviews:

Pixley, Marcella Freak

In Pixley's debut novel, Miriam Fisher's parents see her as a unique
and creative 7th grader. Her fellow classmates see her as an outsider
and a freak. When the popular girls increase the teasing, Miriam must
decide who she is and who she wants to be. Miriam's poems flawlessly
weave themselves into the story. Poignant and true to the middle
school experience where peers can be cruel, Freak drags the reader
into Miriam's struggles and refuses to let go. Received starred
reviews in Booklist and Kirkus.

7th and up R*


Bray, Libba The Far Sweet Thing

In 1896, Gemma and her friends Felicity and Ann try to pursue their
dreams in an extremely confining Victorian society. They attend the
Spence Academy for young ladies where a secret society of women called
the Order once reigned supreme over another world called The Realms.
Gemma has inherited magical abilities from her mother, who was once a
part of the order. Mystery fills the pages as Gemma learns secrets of
The Order's past, The Tree of All Souls and her own dark corners.
Characters have many facets and there are several surprises about all
of the characters. However, the 819 paged book feels slow in some
places and though the plot twists and turns, some of the twists do not
make sense (the modern day feminist sentiments of several main
characters are probably not accurate for that time). The ending is
too neat for a few characters and unsatisfactory for others. As it
contains violence especially towards the end, the audience is those
who are looking for a dark fantasy with human flaws and an ending that
does not say, "and everyone lived happily ever after." This is the
final book in the Gemma Doyle Trilogy.

9th and up AD+

[Charlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ned the stable boy admired the princess from afar until one day when a beast flew down and snatched her. The king dispatched his knights to rescue her, but the return of a hawk signaled their failure. Now Ned--so clumsy that he was known as Butterfingers--took up the mantle and left on the old pony Dilly accompanied by his cantankerous dog Tuffy. As they traveled across the parched landscape, their party grew to include a pig, a mouse, an otter, a fox, and a lark. Now, they just needed to rescue the princess from a d....

The constant chatter of the animals to advance the story was sometimes annoying. I ended up hating the dog, but really wanted to know more about Ned and the princess.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like children’s books that are well illustrated, even if I have the story elsewhere and the ones in this are wonderful in their distinctiveness. The black-and-white and gray illustrations in this book look like silhouettes on the page, giving it the old-fashioned feel of a shadow puppet play. The pictures themselves tell the story along with the text as, on eight consecutive pages, we see a princess at play and then snatched up by a terrible dark shadow.

This is a story like no other, featuring a hero as clumsy as he is inept. But, in spite of his obvious lack of knightly training, Ned sets out with brave heart to find the lost princess. Attended by a motley crew of beasts, Ned’s plight definitely hearkens back to old Grimm tales but with far more personality and warmth.

[Duane · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a let down from beginning to end. First of all the illustrations are useless. Using black, the illustrater does only shadow style drawings which gives the reader no help in trying to imagine character styles or specifics. The story is easily figured out early in the book even though the author for some reason remains at trying to keep the plot a mystery. This book should have been at least half as long and meant as a early reader version with just a couple of chapters. Just not worth the time it took to read it.

[CuriousLibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is nothing special, and is in fact rather cliche. But the art is gorgeous. Ian Beck has done a masterful job using silhouette technique to create detailed illustrations throughout the book. He seems to have used overlays in some instances to get a slightly more detailed look while preserving the silhouettes.

Worth perusing for the illustrations. Shame the story isn't more interesting.

[Tracie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairytale about a clumsy stableboy and a band of animals who save a princess.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast read but good

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful paper cut shadow pictures. New Fairytale.