The Abominables

Starred review from August 19, 2013
What could be more adventurous than a cross-continental trip? How about traveling with a group of excitable yetis? For years, Lady Agatha has nurtured her yeti friends in a secret Himalayan valley, but now that the area has become jammed with tourists, she enlists siblings Con and Ellen Bellamy to transport the creatures to safer ground on her lavish London estate. With help from a friendly lorry driver, the children journey from Tibet to England and see some disturbing sights, including an ill-kept zoo, a bullfight, and a display of animal-head trophies desecrating Lady Agatha’s ancestral home. Ibbotson’s (One Dog and His Boy) final novel—completed posthumously by her son Toby and editor Marion Lloyd—delivers the same wisdom and satiric wit her fans love and expect; Robinson’s witty, personality-laden cartoons (not all seen by PW) add to the fun. There’s comfort to be found in familiar archetypes, including misunderstood supernatural creatures and the big-hearted children who strive to help them, and the message regarding the cyclical nature of life. A memorable finale to a treasured body of work. Ages 8–12. Agent: Tina Wexler, ICM.

August 1, 2014

Gr 3-6-This far-fetched tale moves listeners from the Himalayas to England. Agatha is kidnapped as a child by a yeti, who takes her away to his home so that she can raise and instruct his children. When a hotel threatens their seclusion, the now-aged Agatha trusts in two children to get the yetis to her family home in England. Their adventures include rescuing St. Bernards, freeing zoo animals, and ending a bullfight. Upon arrival, they find their destination taken over by a hunter's club that decides to kill the yetis for sport-in Antarctica. The kids rally other children to protest at the castle, and Prince Charles comes through to save them. If readers can suspend skepticism and roll with the outrageous plot, they might find nuggets of wisdom in this rollicking tale. Younger audiences will empathize with the plight of the animals. Older readers might compare the yetis' plight with that of the author herself as a Jewish child escaping the Nazis. Aptly narrated by Kate Locke, whose British inflections lend themselves to this telling.-Deb Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.