Synopses & Reviews
Enhanced by Tony Auth's wry drawings, Barry Yourgrau's middle-grade fantasy of a boy and his magical, moon-touched uncle is at once humorous and poignant, nostalgic and timeless."Invicius Ponticius Supalicius . . . Magilili . . . Lililiculus?"
Duncan Peckle's young life changes forever the day his mysterious relative, Uncle Dudley of the great voyages, arrives in Mt. Geranium in his battered Panama hat and old tweed coat. No sooner do Duncan's parents leave him in his bungling uncle's care than a strange package arrives and the attic guest room is overflowing with the accoutrements of magical research (and one shrunken head). For eleven-year-old Duncan, it's the start of a summer full of marvelous misadventures — from accidentally summoning goblins to reversing invisibility spells, from unleashing a love elixir to zooming around on giant bubbles through the wild night air.
Review
"Barry Yourgrau has both a wacky imagination and a keen sense of how youth perceive the adults in their worlds. His story is a joy. Tony Auth's illustrations are a perfect, whimsical compliment to this inspired tale." Children's Literature
Review
"Witty, cartoonlike illustrations support the nostalgic feel of the story....Fans of Norton Juster's Phantom Tollbooth will enjoy the quiet charm and sophisticated language of this sometimes poignant tale of enchantment..." Booklist
Review
"[A] lively story...a good introduction to fantasy....Auth's illustrations complement the fun and whimsy of the story." School Library Journal
Review
"Yourgrau's story seems overstuffed with incident and oddly lacking in individuality....Auth's pen-and-ink illustrations help to ground the story in time...and offer amusing glimpses of characters and events..." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Duncan Peckle's young life changes forever the day his mysterious relative, Uncle Dudley of the great voyages, arrives in Mt. Geranium in his battered Panama hat and old tweed coat. No sooner do Duncan's parents leave him in his bungling uncle's care than a strange package arrives and the attic guest room is overflowing with the accoutrements of magical research (and one shrunken head). For eleven-year-old Duncan, it's the start of a summer full of marvelous misadventures from accidentally summoning goblins to reversing invisibility spells, from unleashing a love elixir to zooming around on giant bubbles through the wild night air.
Synopsis
Enhanced by Auth's wry drawings, Yourgrau's middle-grade fantasy of a boy and his magical, moon-touched uncle is at once humorous and poignant, nostalgic and timeless. Illustrations.
About the Author
Barry Yourgrau's adult works include HAUNTED TRAVELLER, WEARING DAD'S HEAD, and A MAN JUMPS OUT OF AN AIRPLANE. A performer too, he has appeared on MTV and NPR. Of MY CURIOUS UNCLE DUDLEY, his first book for young readers, he says, "I've always been influenced by children's books — so I decided to write one myself. I remembered the exotic visits, when I was young, by my uncles from far away. And my own visits, as an uncle myself, to my nephew and niece. So I'm part Dudley, you see, and part Duncan."
Tony Auth's irreverent, incisive, and delightful Pulitzer Prizewinning
political cartoons have appeared in the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER and other newspapers around the world since 1971. When he first read Barry Yourgrau's MY CURIOUS UNCLE DUDLEY, he jumped at the chance to illustrate it. "The eccentricity of Uncle Dudley, the cast of wacky characters, and the humane irreverence of the story really attracted me," he says. "I love all the magical mistakes and mess-ups, especially Barry's tender, amused look at the tolerance of children for the grownups in their world."