mehsi's review against another edition
4.0
Received this book from Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
*EDIT*
I received a new copy from the publisher, because of the jumbled format of the copy I got from Netgalley.
So did the story make sense this time? Did it seem better?
Yes, yes it did. I finally understood what was happening, why the parents where turned like that, and what happened before they ended up on a train in the middle of nowhere. I really like the story, and because I finally can follow the story I will up my rating to 4 stars. However, I will stick to my point that the book could have been even better had it been longer. I feel like it was all a bit rushed. Yes we got explanations, but I think the journey, the trip, the before story could have been more fleshed out.
And also the same thing I said before goes for the ending, even with the story now intact, the ending was a bit weird. Everything is solved, yet there is still a problem and they are off again? So does that mean we get a book 2? Is this a series?
*END OF EDIT*
I also at times rate based on the format and how that looked, so hereby: this book gets -1 star. The ascm I received from Netgalley is all jumbled and mixed up. You start at page 8, then until ~40 it is ok, but after that you get random first pages (pages 1 to 8 are randomly found through the book), there are also some empty pages, and I am not sure if it was supposed to end like the way it did. I checked my ascm twice, even downloading it again, but sadly it was all jumbled and strange.
This sadly also caused me to lose track of the story even more than I already did. It seems like a nice story, but with all the jumbleness I am not even sure how everything started or how everything ended. Maybe it would have been better when everything was in order, but I think even then I would have been confused. The book is only 90 pages and you got quite a lot of story to stuff into it. The whole mom-dad changing into mice story, the magical toad, the witch and her problem, the goblins and their stuff. I think it would have been better if the book was longer.
I did like the main character, she was really interesting, though again, thanks to the jumbled pages I had no clue how she got into this mess. :) Still she is super brave and will do anything for her parents, but also for someone like the witch.
The illustrations are pretty gorgeous and remind me of another illustrators work. There are some page wide illustrations, which are absolutely lovely (like the one of the mountain, or of the witch her house).
The ending (maybe because of the jumbled stuff, though again, it was mostly the beginning part and some parts missing), was strange, weird and I am not even sure what happened. I know this is book one, but to end the book like that? No.
All in all, I wouldn't recommend the book. It was nice and fun, but the whole jumbled stuff, too much story in one small thing and the ending make me say that people might not enjoy it.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
*EDIT*
I received a new copy from the publisher, because of the jumbled format of the copy I got from Netgalley.
So did the story make sense this time? Did it seem better?
Yes, yes it did. I finally understood what was happening, why the parents where turned like that, and what happened before they ended up on a train in the middle of nowhere. I really like the story, and because I finally can follow the story I will up my rating to 4 stars. However, I will stick to my point that the book could have been even better had it been longer. I feel like it was all a bit rushed. Yes we got explanations, but I think the journey, the trip, the before story could have been more fleshed out.
And also the same thing I said before goes for the ending, even with the story now intact, the ending was a bit weird. Everything is solved, yet there is still a problem and they are off again? So does that mean we get a book 2? Is this a series?
*END OF EDIT*
I also at times rate based on the format and how that looked, so hereby: this book gets -1 star. The ascm I received from Netgalley is all jumbled and mixed up. You start at page 8, then until ~40 it is ok, but after that you get random first pages (pages 1 to 8 are randomly found through the book), there are also some empty pages, and I am not sure if it was supposed to end like the way it did. I checked my ascm twice, even downloading it again, but sadly it was all jumbled and strange.
This sadly also caused me to lose track of the story even more than I already did. It seems like a nice story, but with all the jumbleness I am not even sure how everything started or how everything ended. Maybe it would have been better when everything was in order, but I think even then I would have been confused. The book is only 90 pages and you got quite a lot of story to stuff into it. The whole mom-dad changing into mice story, the magical toad, the witch and her problem, the goblins and their stuff. I think it would have been better if the book was longer.
I did like the main character, she was really interesting, though again, thanks to the jumbled pages I had no clue how she got into this mess. :) Still she is super brave and will do anything for her parents, but also for someone like the witch.
The illustrations are pretty gorgeous and remind me of another illustrators work. There are some page wide illustrations, which are absolutely lovely (like the one of the mountain, or of the witch her house).
The ending (maybe because of the jumbled stuff, though again, it was mostly the beginning part and some parts missing), was strange, weird and I am not even sure what happened. I know this is book one, but to end the book like that? No.
All in all, I wouldn't recommend the book. It was nice and fun, but the whole jumbled stuff, too much story in one small thing and the ending make me say that people might not enjoy it.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
alisarae's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful, whimsical, enchanting, playful.
Maddy is an Arizona girl (holla!) who needs to turn her parents, currently an adorable pair of kangaroo rats, back into humans. Her adventures lead her to fantastical creatures, magical machinery, and delightful surprises.
The art is gorgeous, the story is entertaining, and I cannot covet this book enough.
Full review upcoming on Papercuttts.
(note: I received this ARC ebook for free, but that didn't change my honest opinion.)
Maddy is an Arizona girl (holla!) who needs to turn her parents, currently an adorable pair of kangaroo rats, back into humans. Her adventures lead her to fantastical creatures, magical machinery, and delightful surprises.
The art is gorgeous, the story is entertaining, and I cannot covet this book enough.
Full review upcoming on Papercuttts.
(note: I received this ARC ebook for free, but that didn't change my honest opinion.)
bookswithzaya's review against another edition
3.0
The art style is cute and odd. I loved the bear and raccoon.
Maddy is a young girl with a big thimblewitch problem. Her bookish parents have been turned into rats. Maddy must find a way to rescue her parents and her magical floating toad.
1-1-2020
Maddy is a young girl with a big thimblewitch problem. Her bookish parents have been turned into rats. Maddy must find a way to rescue her parents and her magical floating toad.
1-1-2020
library_bookwyrm's review against another edition
4.0
Maddy Kettle is a very cute little graphic novel. I liked it; my kiddos (9 & 7) loved it - hence, four stars!
When Maddy Kettle's parents are turned into rats and then kidnapped, along with her pet floating toad, she sets out to confront the Thimblewitch. A perfect little journey story follows!
Here is my daughter's review of the book:
"This book is about a little girl who lives with her mother and father (who have now become kangaroo rats) and her floating toad, Ralph. She goes from her house to the Thimblewitch's castle. She then travels to the spider goblin's lair, and at the end of the book, the cloudscape. Goblins steal her parents and her pet toad, so she goes to save them. Along the way, she encounters armies of scarecrows and goblins, both of which prove to be easy to pass. She also makes friends with the Thimblewitch and some cloud cartographers. This book seems to have a second book with it, but I didn't look for it. She learns that the Thimblewitch was the former owner of Ralph, and that she could help not only her parents, but everyone. (Oh, and that toads have a terrible memory.) I loved this story a lot, and all the people in the world should read it. No part in particular is the best. "
When Maddy Kettle's parents are turned into rats and then kidnapped, along with her pet floating toad, she sets out to confront the Thimblewitch. A perfect little journey story follows!
Here is my daughter's review of the book:
"This book is about a little girl who lives with her mother and father (who have now become kangaroo rats) and her floating toad, Ralph. She goes from her house to the Thimblewitch's castle. She then travels to the spider goblin's lair, and at the end of the book, the cloudscape. Goblins steal her parents and her pet toad, so she goes to save them. Along the way, she encounters armies of scarecrows and goblins, both of which prove to be easy to pass. She also makes friends with the Thimblewitch and some cloud cartographers. This book seems to have a second book with it, but I didn't look for it. She learns that the Thimblewitch was the former owner of Ralph, and that she could help not only her parents, but everyone. (Oh, and that toads have a terrible memory.) I loved this story a lot, and all the people in the world should read it. No part in particular is the best. "
zepysgirl's review against another edition
2.0
Probably should’ve DNF’d it. Didn’t find it charming, just nonsensical.
theybedax's review against another edition
4.0
A whimsical tale of magic gone awry and miscommunication. Utterly adorable to say the least.
mslibrarynerd's review against another edition
3.0
Beautiful Art, interesting plot. Terrible writing.
2kimi2furious's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. This had a lot of potential, but it seemed too spread out and thin. It didn't flow nicely at all, which is a shame, because I really liked some of the scenes in here. :(
leslie_d's review against another edition
4.0
Love the illustrations and the confidence in pace and storytelling. It has unexpected turns yet a lovely straightforward/simplicity for young readers.
For readers of Hatke's Zita Spacegirl and fans of Studio Ghibli's kind of tales...
Looking forward to a next installment.
For readers of Hatke's Zita Spacegirl and fans of Studio Ghibli's kind of tales...
Looking forward to a next installment.
earth_and_silver's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5