The Magnificent Monsters of Cedar Street

Starred review from November 18, 2019
In this thoughtful adventure set in the late 19th century, a girl who helps her veterinarian father to treat wounded monsters must locate her dad after he is apparently abducted—along with the myriad creatures living in their rambling Boston home. With little more than a threatening note to go on, Cordelia Clay, 12, and her newfound friend Gregory must track down the villain responsible in a world that doesn’t know about the existence of dragons, zombie puppies, and their ilk, and treats social outcasts with cruelty. As Cordelia and Gregory’s quest takes them to a traveling circus in New York, a Canadian university, and back home, they find a terrifying threat to monsters everywhere while exploring the idea that “the monsters people name are not the real danger... it’s the monsters who name themselves that you really have to watch out for.” Oliver’s (Broken Things) marvelous historical fantasy hits just the right tone of sincerity and whimsy; alongside weighty themes “of violence, of hatred, of cages and isolation,” an excerpt from A Guide to Monsters and Their Habits describes many of the beasties in enough detail to ground the premise and bring the monsters to life, and occasional illustrations by Aldridge (Estranged) give a realistically fantastic feel to the meaningful text. Ages 8–12.

Starred review from February 1, 2020

Gr 4-6-Cordelia Clay lives in a world where monsters are real, and it is her father's job (and hers by proxy) to track down injured monsters to nurse them back to health. Her mother was the author of the definitive guide to natural monster history, but died in her attempt to prove her controversial theory that the two branches of monster evolution stemmed from the same root. When her father disappears it is down to Cordelia and, reluctantly on her part, Gregory, the homeless orphan whose zuppy (zombie puppy) she cured, to rescue him. Filled with a treasure trove of fascinating creatures, this Dickensian world is a treat to explore. It is also incredibly relatable, highlighting the paradox of great wealth among immense poverty and addressing themes of fear-mongering and the need for social change. The book begins with a comprehensive guide to the world's creatures that readers will turn to again and again. VERDICT Oliver's characters leap off the page and readers of all ages will find themselves eagerly rooting them on and clamoring for more as their story ends. Hand this to fans of adventure, magical creatures, and epic quests.-India Winslow, Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, MA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2019
Cordelia Clay helps her father, Cornelius, rescue injured and endangered monsters, restoring them to health in the ramshackle family mansion; when her father and the monsters disappear, she sets out to find them. Gregory, a homeless orphan whose sick zombie puppy--a zuppy--she cured, insists on joining Cordelia's dangerous quest. The baby dragon with a broken wing and the elderly filch found hidden in the oven can't be left behind, either, as those aware that monsters do exist advocate exterminating them. Traveling by foot, rail, hot air balloon, and--after Cordelia resolves a pixie infestation--sailing ship, the children flee across Boston, seek out a Manhattan circus featuring monsters, and visit a Nova Scotia university, encountering anxious monsters posing as humans along the way. In this grimy, Dickensian world, an alternate-history Gilded Age, vast wealth coexists with grinding poverty and fear of the other runs deep: Where fear rules, difference is the enemy. Cordelia's mother, author of a definitive natural history of monsters, held more benign views, convinced that the two evolutionary branches, Animalia (ours) and Prodigia (monsters), were relatives sharing a common origin, but died before proving her theory. While resourceful Cordelia and stalwart Gregory are good company, the monsters are standouts, manifesting, like all animals, unique natural attributes and proclivities (described in a comprehensive guide). Charming or alarming, these creatures and their world, rendered in abundant, imaginative detail, beg for further exploration. (Human characters seem to be white in Aldridge's woodcutlike illustrations.) Enchanting. (Fantasy. 8-14)

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December 1, 2019
Grades 4-7 In their crumbling Boston mansion, Cordelia Clay and her father keep a secret: they heal mysterious monsters. Recovering pixies, injured dragons, and other unusual creatures?the Clays keep them safe from a world sure to mistreat them. Cordelia's life is upended when she wakes to find that her father and the monsters have all gone missing, leading her to search for where they've gone and who might have wanted them out of the picture. Oliver's imaginative story combines exquisite descriptions with a spirited narrative, and readers will delight in the quirky creatures and settings. While the book seems to focus on literal monsters?including a detailed reference guide in the front matter?it also examines the concept more figuratively, through the monstrous behavior that humans are capable of and the monsters that people make the unfamiliar out to be. Despite the nineteenth-century New England setting, the themes speak to present-day discussions over immigration and race, fitting a serious and important message into an otherwise fanciful enterprise.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)