Oliver and the Seawigs

Product Information

Review Copy Courtesy of Random House for Young Readers (THANK YOU!!!). Quotes taken from an uncorrected proof.

Stacey de Lacey is Thurlstone's partner and the two will cheat, lie, and steal to win the contest. The two villains have captured Oliver's parents and are going to sacrifice them for the contest. All you readers traumatized by having a tease-me-till-I-scream name will nod in understanding or shake your head at Stacey de Lacey's inferiority complex as he explains turning to evil after kids teased him about his girlie name. When he frees the sea monkeys from their pods therefore getting their zealous loyalty, the narrator says, "If Stacey de Lacey had been a different sort of boy, he might have thought, 'I've found a friend!' But Stacey had never really wanted friends. He thought, 'I've found a servant!'"Swirl into the current some Sarcastic Seaweed and you'll be snort-laughing snot down your own face. Dive right in. Vanhemmat havaitsevat kuitenkin riemukseen lähistölle ilmestyneen saaria, ja lähtevät niitä tutkimaan - ja jäävät sille tielleen. Nyt Oliverin on lähdettävä pelastusretkelle, jonka aikana hän joutuu mitä mielikuvituksellisimpaan seikkailuun, jossa häntä auttavat äreä albatrossi, likinäköinen merenneito Iiris ja saari nimeltä Kari. This went on longer than I intended but for when you want to be the cool mom/dad/aunt/uncle; for the moments when you just want to read and not be disappointed; or for that time when you just want to see the word “monkey-handled”… this does the job wonderfully. Kuinka vaeltavat saaret ja meriperuukit liittyvätkään toisiinsa? Saako likinäköinen Iiris silmälasit? Ja pystyykö tutkimusmatkailija koskaan asettumaan todella aloilleen?But the bare bones of the story hardly do justice to the experience of reading this book. Its appeal lies in its details, which show an irrepressible imagination, much like that of a wide-eyed child explorer who can't help looking at the world and wondering "what if … ?" The Rambling Isles are a fabulous creation, and while the concept strongly recalls the ambulant cities of Mortal Engines, it's played in a lighter key here. Comedy, puns and wordplay are threaded through the story, as when Oliver names the Rambling Isle "Cliff". Illustrator and writer Sarah McIntyre is easy to spot in her pointy glasses and hats. Her books include the comic Vern and Lettuce, four books with Philip Reeve, including Pugs of the Frozen North and Jinks & O'Hare Funfair Repair, and her picture books include There's a Shark in the Bath and Dinosaur Police. She loves creating books and comics with friends and getting inspired by batting around ideas and drawings with them.

We read together everyday and then again at bedtime. She started reading Oliver and the Seawigs during her afternoon reading time. She read longer than I require her to...she didn't want to stop! YAY! When bedtime came that night, she read...Oliver and the Seawigs and finished it. This might not seem like a big deal to us, or even compared to another child's abilities. But watching her struggle during the past school year and seeing her self esteem slip a little more each day was excruciating. Then to see her get excited over a book was thrilling. And even more...she finished it in a day! We had an impromptu party with popcorn and the works to celebrate. No heroic quest is complete without obstacles. Just as Odysseus braved Sylla and Charybdis, Oliver stands tall against the insults of Sarcastic Seaweed and outlasts a swarming tide of sea monkeys. And, with the help of his new friends, the daring and brave Oliver confronts the evil giant island, The Thurlstone, and Stacey de Lacey, the piratical bully with a girlish name. It's a really good book about a giant that has had trouble preparing his wig for the wig contest every four years. The next year he wins being King of the giants with the help of Oliver. The wander in search of items for Cliff's sea wig so that Cliff can win the sea-wig competition and hopefully find Oliver's parents. When your parents are explorers, you never stay in one place for long. Oliver dreams of a place to call home - a normal bedroom, school, and friends. Finally, after there is nothing new to discover or explore, Oliver's parents decide to return home. While his parents explore the curious islands near their home, Oliver settles in, but it doesn't take long to realize that something has gone awry. The islands are suddenly gone, taking his parents with them! Oliver sets out on one last adventure to find his parents and uncover the mystery of the missing islands. Along the way he'll team up with a near-sighted mermaid, help style a sea wig, and take on some meddlesome sea monkeys. Oliver and the Seawigs is full of cleverly imagined characters and humorous illustrations.

Philip Reeve Press Reviews

The illustrations are spot on and they evoke laughter. The diverse set of characters worked out really well. This story is a hilarious account of the adventures encountered by Oliver, who goes on a quest in search of his lost parents who are Mad Explorers.