Au bonheur des monstres

The Ratbridge Chronicles #1

by Alan Snow, Rose-Marie Vassallo (Translator)

Bienvenue à Pont-aux-Rats... mais prudence ! Dans les rues pavées de la ville, ainsi que sous les pavés, il se passe des choses plus que louches. Préparez-vous à rencontrer un assortiment de créatures pas toutes fréquentables, hélas ! Préparez-vous surtout à trembler pour le jeune Arthur, aux prises avec l'odieux Grapnard et sa clique.
Soutenu par des amis de toutes sortes - un vol entier de corbeaux freux, un avocat en retraite, deux ou trois choutrognes, une bande de bricoliaux et quelques pirates -, Arthur parviendra-t-il à déjouer le monstrueux complot ourdi par Grapnard et ses sbires ?
Pont-aux-Rats est en péril !

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Humor, Adventure, Young Adult

540 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Alan Snow is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and designer who has worked on more than 160 books. His novel, Here Be Monsters was made into an animated film, The Boxtrolls, which spent several weeks at the top of the UK box office. Alan has won numerous awards for his work as a children’s book illustrator as well as for design and computer animation.

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
Highly enjoyable!

A fun and unexpected story, complete with charming illustrations on pretty much every page. I think this would be a fun book to read aloud, but it's also nice to tuck yourself away in a corner and read it by yourself!

[The Shayne-Train · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite a slow-ish start, my little one and I ended up really enjoying this book. Up until this, we'd done most just fantasy for our "read aloud nights," so this was a bit of a departure.

How do I classify this book? Young Adult semi-Steampunk with an absurdist twist? Yeah, I guess that works as well as anything.

The story takes place in the city of Ratbridge. There are human characters, anthropomorphic animal characters, and pure fantastical creatures such as boxtrolls and cabbageheads. Oh, and apparently cheese is a living creature, because zaniness.

There are also Roald Dahl-style illustrations on pretty much every single page, which add to the book's offbeat charm. Plus (and this is a BIG plus for me), there are tons of opportunities for silly voices when reading characters' dialog.

So, give it a chance. It may be a bit outside what you're used to, but the journey is definitely worth it.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star.

This was so dull. I think I fell asleep. I don't understand the high ratings. Maybe I was expecting it to be too much like the movie because there was little similarities.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on (10-yr-old) Alex's recommendation,and it was pretty good. It is a very quirky, unusual book which takes place in an "alternate universe" populated with unusual creatures who live side-by-side (and underground) with people.

I can't summarize it any better than Amazon:

"Ratbridge is populated by a variety of odd creatures and equally unusual humans. Underlings, including boxtrolls (shy trolls that wear boxes) and cabbageheads (they worship cabbage and wear them tied to their heads), live in tunnels and caves beneath the city. A boy named Arthur emerges from his subterraneous home and discovers an evil plot. The shady members of the Cheese Guild, led by an unpleasant fellow called Snatcher, are kidnapping underlings and plotting to take over the town. Arthur's allies against the Guild include underlings, a man in iron socks, and the pirates and rats who run the Nautical Laundry."

While it looks long (544 pages!), it's big type with many illustrations, and the story moves very quickly. Highly recommended for 10-year-olds, and regularly recommended for everyone else.

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abordagem fantasista e com muito muito humor da velha guerra entre o Bem e o Mal
Uma estória criativa e refrescante que nos transporta para um mundo irreal construído pela imaginação

Óptimo antídoto para dias de humor cinzento...

[DeAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Snow's books are reminiscent of a kinder, gentler Roald Dahl. Snow captures the concept of whimsical surrealism, but without the dark underpinnings that are at the heart of almost all Dahl books.

The book's protaganist is a smally boy named Authur, who has lived underground with his grandfather for all of his life. We meet Arthur as he is wearing a flying contraption that consists of leathery wings and a box with a crank, quietly fluttering across the night sky above the town of Ratbridge.

He liberates a bunch of bananas from the greenhouse of "a very large lady with a very long stick" and escapes, only to spot an illegal cheese hunt, give chase, and land in a peck of trouble. Soon the courageous lad allies himself with boxtrolls, cabbageheads, pirates, rats, a retired lawyer, and the sadly imprisoned Man in the Iron Socks in a mighty struggle against a pack of scurrilous villains.

Almost every page is illustrated with outstanding cross-hatch art, which I think makes the book more accessible to younger readers, who might otherwise be daunted by a book this large.

We read this book over a period of a couple of weeks, every night at bedtime. It was a big hit with both children and adults, and I highly recommend it for family storytime.

[Stay Fetters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur was a boy who lived with his crafty grandfather underground. His grandfather was charged with a crime he didn't commit. So, he lives in three caves underground. Everyday Arthur travels above ground to find food. He has wings that can make him fly. One day her gets caught while watching the banned cheese hunt. The cheese hunt has been banned since the cheese crash.

The evil Snacther steal's Arthurs wings. Arthur tries to get back home, but all the holes leading to the under ground have been sealed shut. Oh No! What will grandfather do without Arthur?

In his travels Arthur meets a strange cast of characters and they go on mysterious adventures to get whats theirs. All they are asking for is a little peace.

That Evil Snatcher is always here to ruin the party.

I love this book. From the illustrations to the miniature Boxtrolls, Cabbageheads and pirate rats. I've never read anything like this before. It was a thicker book than I realized, but was still magnificent.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

reading this book for the 3rd time

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've had this book for a couple years now. I remember buying at Borders back in either 2005 or 2006 when I was 9 and read probably twice as much as I do now. I also remember never being able to finish this book. There was something about it. Maybe I just didn't find it interesting then or maybe it was the 500 page length of the book. Whatever it was, I could never finish it.

I couple days ago I found this book on my bookshelf and decided to give it another read. I still didn't like it. The main problem I found was the extremely slow pacing of the book. I bet I could write the same book in which the same thing happened in, at most, 200 pages. Another problem was the non-human characters. They just weren't interesting. Boxtrolls where simply people who wore boxes instead of clothes. Cabbageheads, people with cabbages attached to their heads. It wasn't enough to keep my enthralled.

Even with all that negative stuff I will probably keep the book. Why? The illustrations. Alan Snow, who wrote the book, also illustrated it. You might know his work from How Dogs Really Work!, one of my favorite books from my childhood. His illustrations grace every page and are the only reason I could complete this book.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that, after spending the first 5 or so chapters with a permanent crease in my forehead, the book got better. Sure, understanding Cheese Hunts and Cabbageheads went a little too far into "silly" for me, but I'm 32 years old and checked it out from an Elementary School library. I can easily see that my fifth graders would LOVE this book and I'm sure, now that they know it's back on the shelf, they'll be arguing over who's checking it out first.

In short, it's a great book for elementary school and probably middle school readers who can easily wrap their heads around alternate worlds were wedges of cheese run about like wild rabbits. It wasn't too bad once I was able to focus more on the story, so if you can survive the first few chapters, adults, it's not a bad way to spend a few days reading. :)

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow was an amazing, adventurous book. To all fans of the 2014 movie “The Boxtrolls,” adventurous readers, and readers who like to read the original versions of movies, this book is for you. I’m warning you now, this book is very long and starts off a bit slow, but in the end, it’s a great book. The author created the characters for you to easily fall in love with or deeply despise. Here Be Monsters! relates to the movie version in some ways, but is overall, completely different. This book is an adorable adventure novel of a boy trying to save himself and his new-found friends. Overall, Here Be Monsters! was an awesome book. I am definitely reading the sequel.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book b/c of the new movie coming out BOXTROLLS from Laika! I am totally excited about that. So I thought, why not read the source material. Its big and thick and has over 500 illustrations - so really! Its a good story too. With a lot of action and tight scrapes and a great mix of monsters and other sorts of creatures. Very British humour as well - meaning there are not too many underpants jokes. I really love the idea of the Nautical Laundry, so I might have to read all about that adventure in the next book. The police are fairly hysterical too. All in All, a good time.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 of 5

Buncha nonsense, really. The stuff of pure fantasy - I loved it! One of those books I wish I could've read for the first time when I was like 11 years old. Aside from the quirky illustrations, I think my fave was the imaginative twists on reality, like "Oil of Brussels" used as a weapon. Because what kid thinks of Brussels sprouts as anything other than parent-sanctioned poison? Be warned: No matter what age, you will giggle A LOT whilst reading Here Be Monsters! (And if you don't, why the hay would you pick this book up in the first place?!)

[Harriet Moar-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. It's what got me into this genre of books, kind of a 'steampunk' thing from an alternative world. I loved all the characters and they were all so quirky. I really couldn't put it down, and I mean that literally. I pulled an all-nighter before going on holiday just to finish this book. I don't care it's meant to be aimed at a younger audience I would reccomend this to anyone, it was so feel good but not in a sickening way.

[Mladoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Pont-aux-rats, vivent des créatures bien étranges mais si loufoques qu'elles soient quand même bien marrantes. le jeune Arthur part avec ses ailes mécaniques à la recherche de nourriture pour lui et son grand-père, Bon-Papa.
Mais il va se retrouver coincé en ville, incapable de redescendre dans l'En-Dessous où il vit. Il va devoir s'allier avec un vieil avocat, des fifrelins, des choutrognes et autres bricoliaux.
Des rats pirates qui tiennent une laverie, une guilde de fromagers sanguinaires et des machines diaboliques. Ce récit complètement échevelé mais palpitant est servi par des illustrations de l'auteur tout à fait parlantes qui immergent complètement dans l'univers.
J'ai adoré suivre les aventures de ce panel aussi disparate qu'original. Une très chouette histoire à faire découvrir et à conseiller aux amateurs d'univers fantastique un peu barré

[Gláucia Renata · Rating 2 out of 5]

Só descobri depois que é o primeiro de uma série, Crônicas de Ponterrato.
É legal no início mas são mais de 500 páginas. Mesmo sendo cheio de ilustrações achei longo demais para o pequeno leitor. E não consegue agradar tanto leitores adultos que curtem livros infantis.



Histórico de leitura
16/10/2020

"Era tarde numa noite de domingo e Ponterrato mostrava-se cinza-prateada e silente à luz da lua."

[Amy E Sweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book! Interesting characters and very silly circumstances. Highly recommend, especially if you like Boxtrolls!

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here Be Monsters! is a fiction book written by author Alan Snow. The main character, Arthur, has been living underground, beneath Ratbridge for his whole entire life, only going above into town to collect food at times. On one of these trips, he gets caught and all the ways home get sealed up. But he befriends Willbury Nibble along with some boxtrolls, cabbageheads, freshwater sea cows, Marjorie the frustrated inventor, and the crew of the Ratbridge Nautical Laundry. Meanwhile, outlaw Snatcher and his men create a plan to destroy and take over Ratbridge. Arthur and his new friends must thwart Snatcher's plans and still find Arthur a way home. I thought that the characters were very credible even though some of them had a child-like sense of thought but Willbury's wise and mature character balanced it out which I thought was great. Arthur encounters many different problems but the main ones are finding a way home and defeating Snatcher's evil plans. My favorite characters were the different creatures like Fish, Egg, Shoe, Match (the boxtrolls), and Titus (cabbagehead) because they brought a comedic sense to the story and were very funny in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read an interesting non-serious adventure or anyone who wants a good laugh. I've never read another book like this so if you want something new to read, this is your book. For this book, I gave it a rate of 5 stars because it had a very interesting plot and characters and it also had images to follow along with a book.

[Deeanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wavered between giving this a 4-star rating - it's just a children's book after all - and a 5-star rating. But I finally decided, why SHOULDN'T I give a kids book five stars? I plowed through it and thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing; I found that it was very entertainingly and well-written, and far exceeded whatever my vague expectations were.

To be clear, unlike some of the things I've been reading lately, (looking at you, Walter Moers) this isn't a "kids-book-for-adults". It's just a regular kids book, the sort of thing I would have read sometime around 5th grade, and would have made me feel smart because of its sheer size but that I would have still understood. Copiously illustrated, it strongly reminded me of Roald Dahl in both it's story-telling and illustration style.

The story is simple but somehow charmingly complex and moments from the past weave into the future plot very smoothly. It has plenty of characters to love and definitely made me laugh out loud a few times. My only problem with it was that somewhere toward the middle, a lot of characters are rapidly introduced, and it was hard to keep them all straight. However, even without knowing exactly who someone is and what species they are, the story rolls along smoothly.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into this, but anyone looking for a light, fun, and surprisingly-quick-for-its-size book should enjoy this.

[Alessandro Ricci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una lettura piacevole e divertente, nonostante le 500 e passa pagine si legge in un battibaleno, anche grazie alle numerose illustrazioni e schizzi. La storia è surreale e molto fantasiosa, i vari personaggi assurdamente divertenti, troll in catola, cavoli in teste e pirati lavandai, popolano questo mondo immaginifico e surreale. Mi ha ricordato la miglior letteratura inglese per ragazzi, deve sicuramente molto a Dahl, anche lo stile delle illustrazioni mi ha ricordato il mitico Quentin Bake.
Se amate la letteratra per ragazzi come me, non potete non fare un salto a Ponteratto e nel Sottomondo!

[Lisa Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 10-year-old and I both greatly enjoyed this quirky, funny, smart, and quick-moving adventure story. Filled with odd characters, including boxtrolls, cabbageheads, rat pirates, and a boy with mechanical wings, Here Be Monsters is a big book that never gets dull. Added attraction: Hundreds of detailed black-and-white drawings that are totally absorbing and add greatly to the impact of the story. We both recommend it!

(For my kid's quickie opinion, see the review on my blog.)

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to my sister, Trish....who gave this to me, I thoroughly enjoyed this little story that became the movie "The BoxTrolls." Entirely different story, but both original book, and storyline for movie were different and sweet.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ariella made me read this because she was upset that I like the Boxtrolls movie so much but really, the stories are entirely different. And I love claymation and those little boxtrolls anyway; this story is far more (and perhaps too) complicated.

[Mommalibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

All troubles are quickly resolved. Some clever bits but strictly for a younger set than the Potter books.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2016...

[Sean DeLauder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story one of my favorite studios, Laika, adapted into the film The Boxtrolls. When I spotted the book as the source material in the credits I knew we had to find it and read what I expected would be a novelization of the story we knew.

The two turned out to be strikingly different.

There were enough similarities to recognize the stories as being related, just as you might see family resemblances between children and parents, but the book seemed far more whimsical than the film, which is saying something for a film about: a boy "kidnapped" by trolls who live underground and possess a penchant for mechanics, henchmen who increasingly doubt the ethics of their actions and begin to suspect they are the bad guys, a negligent nobility obsessed with cheese, and a cross-dressing villain with a cheese allergy determined to insert himself into that nobility through the most destructive and malevolent means possible.

The book shares some of these aspects, but on the whole I feel as if those who wrote the screenplay were able to essay the most salient parts, streamline, and improve the story on the whole. A necessity for turning this monstrous tome into a 90-minute story.

A fellow reviewer perfectly described Snow's work as:

"... reminiscent of a kinder, gentler Roald Dahl. Snow captures the concept of whimsical surrealism, but without the dark underpinnings that are at the heart of almost all Dahl books."

There is perhaps no better comparison than Dahl, though Dahl managed to keep a much narrower focus on his plotting despite a similarly whimsical inclusions. This is evident in the film versions of his stories, which typically undergo very few changes in the plotting.

By comparison, Laika plucked out the boxtrolls as the primary cast supporting the main character from Snow's littered landscape of creatures: living cheeses that are hunted (illegally), talking rats and crows who are part of a mixed crew of pirates and run a laundry on their ship anchored in a canal, the villainous members of the Cheese Hall, the complicit members of the police force, and a cavalcade of "underlings" who live beneath the city, including dangerous "trotting badgers," the boxtrolls themselves, cabbageheads, and Rabbit Women.

Including them all would have made for a massively convoluted and noticeably overstuffed film. Overstuffed might be an applicable term to describe the overflowing content of Snow's work, though this is far more tolerable in a book than stop-motion animation that takes days to film a few seconds of action.

The premise is similar. Again, Archibald Snatcher is the cross-dressing villain, though his alter ego plays a far diminished role, and his aim in Snow's original story is to lay waste to the city and resume the manufacture of cheese, resuming the family business which had ended due to the bad company practices and terrible product that had gotten it shut down in the first place.

Snow's adventure that doesn't quite have the same gravitas or pathos of the film (again, screenwriters Irena Brignull, Adam Pava, Vera Brosgol, Anthony Stacchi, and Phil Dale are to be commended for what they did here), though it is not without emotion or comraderie, and has its share of mystery, though it spends most of its time indulging in the amusing quirks of the city of Ratbridge's diverse residents.

In the end, however, both book and film are about setting long injustices to rights, and both are satisfying in that respect.

One of the great strengths of the book were its illustrations. Hundreds of illustrations, ballooning the book to over 500 pages. Each providing descriptive reinforcement for a character or a scene, sometimes occupying a fraction of a page, other times an entire page, and other times, as in the case of a handy glossary at the beginning of the book, several pages. Every page is in some way decorated and looking through it is akin to thumbing through a medieval Bible painstakingly illuminated over the space of years by a room full of toiling, bent-backed monks who occasionally broke their silence to giggle at their own handiwork.

If forced to choose between the two options, the film would be the easy choice in terms of the streamlined and cleverly plotted story, but the book is worth reading, not just because it is the underpinning of the story Laika created, but because Alan Snow has made a convoluted story into nothing short of a work of art.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Mom (Annette), age ?, 3/22/21
This book was recommended to us as a read-aloud by a fellow dance mom. She warned us that it was very long, but that her kids loved it. I did not spend much time questioning whether to read aloud: all of my kids are desperate for long, chewy books they can enjoy during the library semi-shut-down. Both girls, age 7 and 10, devoured it in a matter of days and also enjoyed the sequel.
When it was my turn, it took me a few moments adjusting to the illustration style (which both girls also struggled with). But I quickly began to appreciate both the line drawings and the story itself. Very, very British in its absurdist humor, we learn to accept wind-up wings, cheese hunts (on "horses" made up of two men in a horse costume!) machine loving box trolls, vegetable loving cabbage heads, and kindly retired lawyers without twitching an eyebrow. We should not, then, have been surprised at the talking rats who comprise half the crew of the Laundry ship, but somehow I was anyway! There's something sillier around every corner as Arthur and his newfound allies work to prevent Snatcher from unleashing his great, gooey revenge on the entire town of Ratbridge.
Well worth a read even by adults, and one I would happily place on my permanent shelf (should I find a nice, second-hand copy, of course!)


Reviewed by Lucy, age 7 3/4, 2/27/21

Main Character: A boy named Arthur.
Other characters: Box trolls. Arthur’s Grandpa. Willbury. Snatcher and his crew. Rats and their master that work in the Ratbridge Laundry, which is a pirate ship.
Setting: Ratbridge. This world is very weird because it has freshwater sea cows, wild cheeses that live in bogs, box trolls, cabbage heads, and rabbit women.
Inciting Incident: Arthur gets caught by Snatcher who steals his wings. But in the end Arthur gets away without the wings and meets Willbury. Willbury is friends with box trolls, cabbage heads, and other “underlings.”
Rising Action: They try to get the wings back from Snatcher and find out what he’s doing.
Now if you want to find out more, Read the Book!

I thought this was a good book because I just like books with things from the underworld and small children who get into difficult-to-get-out-of places and situations and have to have to go on a big questy-journey-thinkamabob to get back. In other words, exciting books.
I did not like the pictures very much.
One sneak peek: A giant rat explodes and covers everything in cheese. Don’t come back at me for spoilers because if you read the back of the book you would know.

Reviewed by Grace, age 10, 3/20/21

Once upon a time there was a boy named Arthur who lived underground with his “Grandfather,” who was an inventor. That boy lived in a strange and fascinating world with trolls that live in boxes and cheese wheels that run around and are about as easy to catch as dead sheep. A little while ago, eating cheese had become illegal. This is because the Cheese Guild was selling poisonous cheese.
One day Arthur was out to get food for him and his grandfather, who wasn’t really his grandfather, but close enough. He made some noise while he was stealing bananas and a lady walked in and whacked him with a big stick, damaging his wings which Grandfather had made so he could fly. So he flew away – because his wings still worked a little bit – and stopped on top of the Cheese Guild Hall. Suddenly he saw men on horses capturing cheese! So he followed them – and got into trouble! When he got away he met a nice, kind lawyer (retired) named Wilburry. He took care of Arthur and they tried to find a way to get him home. Wilburry had a couple of friends: three boxtrolls and a cabbagehead. They could not get Arthur home, but they made friends with a bunch of pirates who do laundry, and some rats. They discovered a terrible plot to release a huge cheese rat into the town and had to foil it.
He got back to his grandfather. He’s happy – until the next book.
The End

What I liked about this book: It was hilarious. The entire plot of the book and the ridiculous situations were funny.
What I didn’t like about this book: It was a little weird. Maybe a lot weird. I wasn’t exactly a huge fan of the drawings, but he (the illustrator) definitely knew what he was doing.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read here be monsters and its about a boy named alan that doesn't have any parents and was adopted by an old man but the man didn't have much money so they had to dig through trash cans when the boy grew older and was about 10 the man was too old to go outside he needed to rest so the man was an inventor he invented a doll that the boy can bring with him and his grandpa can talk to him and help him one night when he was off to the trash can he saw a banana tree and said wow this is way better he put the doll in his pockets and started grabbing some bananas then a big mad lady heard him and she grabbed a big stick she fond and tried to hit him with it alan pushed a button he had in his clothes and two wings popped out his grandpa invented it so he went flying to an abandoned cheese musium he wanted to check if his wings where ok but he was scared someone might see him then he just saw a cheese WALKING by he's heard about living cheeses before but never saw one in real life alan followed the cheese but then saw a man in a horse looking for cheeses alan asks his grandfather who is that and he tells him that those are cheese hunters they are illegal they wonder why they want the cheese alan asks his grandfather where they're going but he suddenly cant hear him so alan follows the hunters and sees that they are going to a factory and only one of the hunters found a cheese and he sees an angry man saying its time to feed the master alan read once about the master he can build big houses in exchange of a lot of food and if you don't bring him food he can eat you then the hunters see alan and want his wings they chase him all around then he goes to a part of town there is a door and its locked there was no way out suddenly a hand comes out of the door and brings alan in alan sees the house and it's full of boxtrolls it is some trolls that live in boxes to hide and they can make electricity new streets and some homes there is a man in a chair that welcomes alan in their home he gives him food while alan explains what has happened to him the boxtrolls where scared it was time to sleep the man made a bed for alan and the next day they where off to grab all the cheeses brought the hunters to jail then his grandpa finds him and congratulate him then they all build a big house to live in

I would rate this book a 3 because it was fun to read and it was an adventure but it was really long and it took time from me
I would recommend this book because it is challenging but it also has drawings so its not so hard
I would recommend this book to my sister and my friends because they all love to read
this book changed me to be a better person and to be carefull

[Ана Хелс · Rating 5 out of 5]

Признавам, че анимацията за кутийковците не съм я гледала – подобен бъртънов стил на рисуване ми е меко казано противничък. Но пък нали за това са създадени книгите – един и същи сценарий да можеш да си го минеш през дисни филтъра с песничките или каквото там ви е на естетическата анимационна душа, а пък историята си остава еднаква. А тя е хем класическа, хем някак топла и семейна. И много шантава, съвсем по Роалд Далски. Светът е хем нашия, хем не съвсем. Несправедливостите са налице, ексцентричните богаташи също, и добрите премазани от системата хорица присъстват за съжаление в големи количества. Но вместо да вземат по дикенсов маниер да се тръшкат по пода, потънал в плодове на плъхове и производство на хлебарки, тукашните герои се обединяват и подемат своята малка октомврийска революция срещу богаташите и изпечените мошеници. Дали ще успеят?

Това е само началото на една доста по-голяма история, но дори и така книжката може да се чете самостоятелно. Ще се запознаете с луди учени, плъхове пирати с бизнес в областта на чистотата, модни корифеи – поддръжници на сестри Кардашиян без да го знаят, и разбира се – кутийковците – малки прелестни тролове, носещи като облекло, къща и етническа принадлежност кашони. От банани, вафли, лютеница – всичко става. Въпреки откачения си вид, опаковъчните гномчета са очарователни, добросърдечни и срамежливи създания без минало, обитаващи подземията на малко градче и вършещи работата на любимите ни мургавелковци, занимаващи се с истинското разделно претакане на личните ни отпадъци. И затова те са в огромна опасност, когато се превръщат в най-актуалния моден аксесоар.

Знам, знам, звучи хем твърде простичко, хем твърде странно. Истината е , че е безкрайно ненатоварващо, с леки стиймпънк нотки, малко страшки, много усмивки и добър финал за цялото семейство. Чудесна история за практически всяка възраст, смесваща забавните приключения с топлата и незлоблива ирония към някои от любимите пороци на света ни. Точната книжка за някой уикенд или ваканция, оставящ дълбоките спомени за най-хубавото време, което сме прекарали сами и доволни в прелестен книжен свят. Така се преглъщат производните на реалността по-лесно, уверявам ви.

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Arttu elää maan alla isoisänsä kanssa. Öisin hän lähtee varastelemaan ruokaa kaupungista, koska maan alla ruuan saanti on ihmiselle vaikeaa. Yhdellä matkallaan hänen siipensä varastetaan ja samalla hän huomaa, että reitti maan alle on tukittu ja Arttu jää ansaan maan pinnalle.

En pitänyt tästä kirjasta. Jokin tässä vain tökki minua väärällä tavalla. Kerrontatyyli ärsytti minua aluksi, mutta muuttui sitten neutraaliksi. Monet ovat kehuneet tätä tosi mielikuvitukselliseksi, mutta minusta kirja tuntuu vain ratsastavan muutamalla idealla ja vitsillä 500 sivun ajan.

Tämä vetoaa varmaan kohdeyleisöönsä, mutta uskoisin, että teos on myös aika raskas nuorelle lukijalle. Itse olisin ärsyyntynyt lapsena siitä, miten kuvien alla on aina selitystekstit ja mitenkä ne välillä paljastavat tarinaa jopa useamman sivun eteenpäin tai aina vähintäänkin koko sivun tarinaa. En itse tajua, miksi kuvissa pitää olla selitystekstit alla: kuvat liittyvät suoraan tarinaan, joten on vähän turha kirjoittaa alle tyyliin "Arttu lentää siivillään", kun kuvissa on poika lentämässä mekaanisilla siivillä.

Ei iskenyt, mutta hyvin kirjoitettu ja kuvitus on kivaa. Osui vain tosi moneen kohtaan listallani "asiat, joista en ole koskaan pitänyt kirjoissa".