Gurgling with pleasure, Smiler headed for it. One, far ahead, was white and glimmered in the dark like ice crystals. There were more slime molds ahead of him, growing inside the pipe like a sinister midnight garden. It threw its eerie green light on Smiler's face. It flowed down the wall like green ice cream. Smiler didn't know, but it was called a slime mold, a kind of fungus that glows in the dark. "SO WHAT?" it said, in huge, spiky red capitals. This stranger should mind her own business! Frankie sprayed her answer on the wall in a few quick, furious blasts. She got enough of that kind of talk from Mum. "Excuse me, but is not spraying dragons everywhere illegal?" commented Mizz Z.įrankie's eyes immediately blazed defiance. ![]() Bring us more like this and right quick:) The Monster in the Mudball is a fun read for kids and parents alike and the start of what looks to be a great series.Īs always, I'll leave you with some of my favorite passages from The Monster in the Mudball : The book closes with a blatant promise of a book two and one of the best uses of an epilogue I've ever seen. Instead, she throws the characters together and focuses on kids chasing baby-eating monsters, which is what we paid for. Gates slow the story down to comment on how neat it is that such diverse folks are all getting along. What's not to like? Also, it's effortlessly multicultural, by which I means it features a cast of characters from different cultural backgrounds without ever making it a thing, which is the best way to do it. It's interesting characters in pursuit of a monster from page one to the end. Babies such as Jin's baby brother Smiler! Worse yet? Zilombo, the terrible beast from the sewers that reminded me of the Korean horror film The Host (a Ninja favorite), has a taste for babies, as Mizz Z knows all too well. Is there any chance there could be a monster in there? Any chance that monster Zilombo who just needs to get wet like a Gremlin to become a terrible beast not unlike a crocodile, but worse? Esteemed Reader, the could be such a chance. So getting back to that mudball we were discussing. I do many of my inspections under cover of darkness." "Why scare people if you don't need to? Besides, many owners don't even know I have visited. "Of course not," said Mizz Z with a scathing look. They don't know what power is hanging on their walls, or stored, forgotten, in trunks in their attics." Most owners of the things I inspect have no idea. "Madalitso knew her artifact might be dangerous," Mizz Z told Jin. Her job is to inspect ancient artifacts, of course: Zauyamakanda, or Mizz Z for short, is the Chief Inspector of Ancient Artifacts, which is like being a Man in Black for fantasy creatures rather than UFO inhabitants. Her head wrap and s kirt were the same pattern -sizzling- hot red, flaming orange, and scorch ing yellow zigzags.Ī.J. She had a wrap wound into a high crown around her head. She'd burst like a firework display into this quiet little cul de s ac of gray, pe bble-dashed bungalows. Gates great gifts is introducing interesting characters who feel real as a result of the specific characteristic she assigns them: When Madalitso exits stage left, which she does soon after this scene (not by getting killed, don't worry), she will be leaving behind a mystery and source of conflict for our heroes. Why is Madalitso talking to a ball of mud? Keen readers may pick up on the significance of a ball of mud in a book titled The Monster in the Mudball:)Why has this ball of mud been shut up for twenty years and what terrible thing did it do to deserve this harsh punishment. What I like about this opening is that it raises questions. ![]() She's not in the story for long, but we open with her and for the time she's present, her job is to introduce the conflict that will plague Jin. But first there's this business with Madalitso, grown-up. ![]() We meet Jin Aaron Sparks, our eleven-year old protagonist, soon enough. This is a good idea when opening any story, but essential when opening with a grown up. The trick to opening a book for children by discussing the actions of an adult is to intrigue the reader. Gates is English, so I'm using their title this week). It's unusual to open a middle grade novel with the actions of an adult rather than a child protagonists, despite that being the exact way Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone opens (S.P. It's going to be a good week.įirst, let's talk about that opening. Gates will be here Thursday to face the 7 Questions. Here's a fun read for us to discuss, Esteemed Reader, and author S.P.
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