202. Let Sleeping Sea-Monsters Lie...and Other Cautionary Tales by Eva Ibbotson

Let Sleeping Sea-Monsters Lie...and Other Cautionary Tales by Eva Ibbotson
Published July 2012 Macmillan


From the publisher:
A funny, fantastical collection of cautionary tales from the mind-bogglingly brilliant and bestselling Eva Ibbotson. Now with a brand-new look! 

This book was originally published in 1983, and seeing as we will unfortunately not be getting any new titles from Eva Ibbotson, I need to spread the word about this wonderful re-issue.

I am always getting asked for suggestions in regard to read aloud material for middle primary classrooms.  This year I am coming across so many great books that will fit the bill.  This book contains five short stories, cautionary tales about what could happen if you are nasty, rude or you just don’t listen.

There’s The Worm and the Toffee Nosed Princess, about a rude little princess who gets eaten by a giant worm.  The king promises great riches to anyone who manages to slay the great monster, and if his daughter is my some miracle still alive, the successful slayer may also have her hand in marriage.  The problem with this worm, is that whenever a piece is chopped off he can join himself back together.  This knight however, is ruthless and he chops and chops until the worm can’t keep up and he ends up in pieces. As luck would have it the princess has survived albeit looking a bit worse for wear, but when the king offers her hand to the knight he declines, as she is not the sort of person he would marry.  Then we have the story of a naughty boy who disturbs a Kraken, you will find out what a Frid is, and why dogs should never get too close, what happens to three Scotsmen who try and trick the Boobrie bird, and the last story is about the Brollachan, who is not much more than a blob, with eyes and a mouth who finds a way to deal with his nagging mother!

The stories are not really scary, even though the word ‘monster’ is in the title. They are however, really exciting for the younger reader, because they know something bad is going to happen to that naughty/cheeky/rude character, and they will be on the edge of their seats waiting to see what it is! The stories in this collection are funny, and full of wonderfully rich language.  They will become firm favourites at bedtime and in the classroom.

Who will like this book: Girls and Boys age 7+
Read it if you like: The Great Piratical Rumbustification by Margaret Mahy