Down the Mysterly River

Starred review from July 18, 2011
Eisner-winning comics creator Willingham (the Fables series) makes his middle-grade debut with an action-packed and often touching novel (published in a different form by Willingham's Clockwork Storybook collective in 2001) that explores the nature of characters and authorship. Twelve-year-old Max, a Boy Scout and self-professed detective, finds himself in a strange forest with no idea how he got there. He soon meets a group of talking animals who are equally confused about their provenance, including a badger named Banderbrock, a gentle bear named Walden, and the mean cat McTavish. They encounter mysterious hunters called the Blue Cutters, who use their blades to literally cut into the history of creatures, rearranging their pasts to suit the Cutters' desires. Willingham roles out his themes slowly, only fully spelling them out in the final scene, but they don't interfere with the rollicking story, nasty (but fully realized) villains, and heroic camaraderie. Likewise, although references from The Princess Bride to Edgar Rice Burroughs abound, they're smoothly integrated, never letting readers suspect they might be missing a joke. The end result is a stellar example of a novel working both as an adventure tale and as metafiction. Ages 10âup.

December 1, 2011

Gr 5-8-Max the Wolf, who is not a wolf at all but a Boy Scout who likes to solve mysteries, is in the middle of a very big dilemma. Awakening in a forest, he has no memory of how he got there. Encountering a talking badger named Banderbrock further distresses him, not only for obvious reasons, but also because the badger is equally confused. As the two attempt to determine their whereabouts, they pick up a feisty barn cat named McTavish and a bumbling but lovable bear sheriff, Walden. This unlikely group soon finds itself under attack by a band of vicious men and women called Blue Cutters. Their magical swords hack away at victims, changing their personalities until they no longer resemble who they once were. Max has to find out why they're all in this strange land, all the while dodging, fighting, and trying to outsmart the Cutters. Readers will cheer for this motley crew, and crazy McTavish is good for more than a few laughs. While the ending is slightly predictable, it doesn't diminish the enjoyment readers will feel when the mystery is solved, and they'll race through the story to get there. Buckingham's simple but effective black-and-white illustrations give faces to the characters at the beginning of each chapter. Willingham has skillfully created an imaginative fairy-tale world, and an adventure quest with heart.-Mandy Lawrence, Fowler Middle School, Frisco, TX

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.