Synopses & Reviews
From the moment young Egan arrives in Instep, he senses the spell cast over the villagers by the Megrimum--the mysterious something that lurks on the mist-wreathed peak of Kneeknock Rise. Everyone shudders in horror--delicious horror--whenever the Megrimum's unearthly wail floats down to the village. Before long, Egan is climbing the Rise to find a practical explanation for those wails.
Review
"Although Kneeknock Rise is little more than a high hill, it is a source of awe and pride to the villagers on Instep, who attribute the terrifying sounds which issue from the mist-shrouded top of the Rise on stormy nights to an unseen but fearsome creature they call a Megrimum...An enchanting tale imbued with a folk flavor." --Starred,
Booklist"Here's a wonderfully fluent fable about man's need to have somthing to believe in...The strength of this tale is in Natalie Babbitt's clean, modern, very confident telling. For children, especially, this is fine writing." --School Library Journal
"The allegory seems to have grown slowly and surely, so much fold felling does it have along with its symbolism and satire. Beatifully and clearly written, the story can be read aloud with pleasure." --Horn Book
"Natalie Babbitt's prose is as clean as her pen line. Like The Search...delicious."
--The Kirkus Reviews