Monkey Boy

by Donovan Bixley

Part novel - part comic - all action.

From the back cover "Jimmy Grimholt is the youngest sailor aboard warship H.M.S Fury, bound for bloodcurdling battle.

This is not a story of cotton-candy capers. It is a story of gruesome horrors, awful amputations and ghastly ghouls...

It's a rough life at sea, so grab a bucket and hold on to your guts. This is going to get really ugly."

Genres: Graphic Novels

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Donovan Bixley is an award-winning illustrator and book designer based in Taupo.

He has illustrated over 80 books across a broad range of genres, from his best-selling preschool books The Wheels on the Bus (2010) and Old MacDonald’s Farm (2011), to his wordless book about extreme climate change, The Weather Machine, his hybrid comic/novel Monkey Boy, and his illustrated biography Faithfully Mozart, which was a finalist in the 2006 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

Donovan has also worked with top New Zealand authors: recreating Dashing Dog by New Zealand’s world famous Margaret Mahy; illustrating two of Barry Crump’s Pungapeople books, co-creating the internationally acclaimed Dinosaur Rescue series with Kyle Mewburn, and illustrating The Three Bears Sort Of by Yvonne Morrison, which won the coveted Children’s Choice Award at the 2014 NZ Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

When he’s not immersed in the world of picture books, Donovan plays guitar, piano and saxophone, and is front-man for Hot Tub, a 13 piece funk/jazz band. He has also been involved with the Taupo Theatre Company, both on stage and behind the scenes as a designer.

Reviews

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve said Monkey Boy is a historical novel, but in reality Donovan Bixley has created a genre-defying book. It’s part history, part war story, part ghost story, part coming of age story, part graphic novel and all action!

Jimmy Grimholt is the youngest and smallest sailor aboard the warship HMS Fury, as it heads out into the English Channel to fight off Napoleon Bonaparte and his army. Jimmy’s job is to be a powder monkey to the gun crew of Blasting Betty, a 32-pound cannon. The powder monkey’s main task is to run to the magazine store, the most dangerous place on the ship, and retrieve bags of gunpowder to enable his gun crew to charge their cannon. A dangerous enough task when walking, but a potentially deadly duty while running during the heat of battle and the ship is being peppered with enemy cannon shot.

The main action of the novel revolves around the warship’s wait for the inevitable battle with Napoleon. However, there is added action through the use of time slip, as we learn more about how Jimmy ended up in the Royal Navy at such a young age. There is also conflict with the other powder boys on board, his superior officers, and a ghost or three lurking on the ship.

This book should appeal to a wide range of kids, with its humour, historical fact, gross out moments, great cast of characters, and Bixley’s perfect use of illustration – which add tension and detail to the story without a lot of extra text.

(This review was first published on www.stephellisnz.wordpress.com)

[Adele Broadbent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE Donovan Bixley's Illustrations and Monkey Boy is chocka blocka full of them. The story is a rip-roaring read full of stuff boys like - sailors, swearing, battles and bogeys. And a few ghosts are in there for good measure! There is some interesting facts about life about a ship way back when Napoleon Bonaparte was trying to invade England too.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book (except for that horrible whiter than white paper it is printed on) action, a great fun rollicking adventure during the Napoleonic wars, set on a battleship where the crew is manky, the food disgusting and life is full of risk and danger lurks at every turn. Cool book for junior boys (and girls) who want their adventure full on and don't mind being grossed out.

[Francesca Pashby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this, I really did, but it just did not work for me. It was trying to be too many things at once. I now know more about boat layout than I ever thought possible, there were some really quite peculiar ghost scenes, and a LOT of toilet-ish humour which was actually a bit too graphic even for my gutter-level tastes. Bixley is a majorly talented artist, and I feel this book would have worked much better as a graphic novel.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one, great read! i love this guys work, and this did not disappoint me!

[Marion Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. Exciting and action-filled, Monkey Boy is "part novel - part comic - all action". It is full of ghosts, ghouls and guts. Set during the Napoleonic Wars on a British warship, our hero, Jimmy is the smallest on board and is given the job of powder monkey. This involves running gunpowder up to the canons - a potentially explosive job. The book gives an accurate portrayal of grim Navy life, there is no sugar coating. The mix of comic and novel, and the grisly tale it holds will appeal to reluctant readers - particularly boys.

[Lorraine Orman · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Part novel, part comic, all action" states the cover, and that just about says it all. Donovan Bixley proves he can write as well as he illustrates - I hope to see more of this sort of work from him. It's packed with adventure and excitement and supernatural happenings - as well as a fair dollop of death and violence, especially in the illustrations. For this reason I'd only recommend it for boy readers of about 11 or 12 and older. Lorraine Orman (www.story-go-round.net.nz)

[Sandi Faulconbridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome read. Part novel, part graphic novel and all adventure.
It's even got some facts thrown in there. And I love the pronunciation of strange names like Julius Seizure (Julius Caesar), May-oar-eees (Maori) & Our Tear Rower (Aotearoa).
Our year 6 boys will love this ... Ghosts, gore, fighting, swearing, bullies and 'pay-back'.
Yay for fantastic kiwi authors. Keep it coming Donovan :-)

[Woff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man does the cover of this one let it down! I ignored it on the shelf for like two years before some kid told me it was his favourite book. This is gonna be perfect for all those Horrible-History-loving-fiction-hater kids - funny, exciting, snappily illustrated, and full of historically accurate lols.

[Reuby Tuesday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasionally it was gruesome but it got me hooked anyway. my favorite bit is when Hilary turns to the afterlife without realising it and he says to jimmy to round up the men and jimmy is staring at a hole in Hilary's tummy.

[Melinda Szymanik · Rating 4 out of 5]

review to come