The Beastly Boys

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

What an intriguing story SEA MONSTERS AND OTHER DELICACIES turned out to be. This is the second story in the AN AWFULLY BEASTLY BUSINESS series.

The story starts out with Baron Marackai and his minions dropping grenades over the side of their boat. They are attempting to rouse sea monsters from the deep. Baron Marackai has evil plans to get as many sea monsters as he can and then eat them: for they are delicious. His minions fear that the RSPCB (the show more Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Beasts) will seek retaliation against them.

Later, the bizarre Captain Crab brings his fishing boat to Farraway Hall, the headquarters for the RSPCB. He is hauling an injured sea monster. And it's not just any sea monster; it's a Redback, the most deadly sea monster! But Dr. Fielding at the RSPCB can't figure out how it sustained a skull injury. It normally dwells on the bottom of the sea, far from people.

Dr. Fielding is aided by Ulf, a werewolf, and together, they figure out a way to save the Redback. But their good deeds quickly get overshadowed by the return of the long-lost son of the founder of Farraway Hall. And he's up to no good!

SEA MONSTERS AND OTHER DELICACIES is a book that is sure to please boys. Filled with venomous sea monsters and other gory details, the pages will fly by. The story had a similar feel to the Lemony Snicket A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS books. The evil Baron is made to be ridiculously bad and the heroes are everyday folks just out to do what is right.

With entertaining illustrations and amusing situations, this is one story that will be a treat for all who open its pages. show less

Featured at An Abundance of Books

The Beastly Business series take place in a modern world where mythical creatures aren't so mythical - and they're protected by law. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Beasts (RSPCB) exists to not only protect these creatures, but set up breeding and conservation programs, healing and helping to rehabilitate beasts so that they can return to the wild. Ulf is a young werewolf who has grown up at the RSPCB main headquarters which doubles as a show more 10, 000 acre rescue home for beasts. He'll remain there until he's able to care for himself. Ulf spends his days learning about and caring for various creatures on the compound and assisting Dr. Fielding, the RSPCB's vet. One night Dr. Fielding was tracking a mother and child pair of dragons when the disappeared from the radar. She discovers the body of the baby dragon and brings it back for an autopsy. During the autopsy they find that the dragon was shot down with a cannon ball and report the findings to the authorities. An Agent Black comes to investigate and Dr. Fielding and Ulf learn that they are dealing with a very dangerous criminal. The agent believes that this person has started the Ring of Horrors back up - an illegal pit fight where magical beasts fight to the death. The RSPCB must stop this criminal and rescue the mother dragon and any other captured beasts.

I'll admit that this is not my type of book at all, but I can think of quite a few students who would love it. Werewolf versus Dragon is a nicely paced story with some fantastic creatures, quite a bit of potty and gross out humor, and some gore (blood, detailed autopsy, guts, etc.) Heck, there's even a ghost! Ulf was a great character who was discounted at times (maybe because of his age or his species) but really saved the day. Duddle has provided some excellent pen and ink illustrations that are humorous and a little edgy.

I think some of the more scientifically minded readers would enjoy the autopsy and cryptozoology "science" parts of the book. I would also recommend this book to kids who enjoy the Captain Underpants books but are looking for a little something different (similar humor in both series). Werewolf versus Dragon seems to straddle the line between early chapter book and a middle grades book, I'd suggest it to my students who are in third grade or higher. While I wouldn't call this a scary book, there is the blood-and-guts factor (be it frozen rats for the mountain troll or the dragon's stomach contents) and it's a bit sad and violent. These creatures are fighting to the death in the Ring of Horrors and the baby dragon was killed. I would definitely keep your reader in mind when selecting this book - this isn't a book that every kid would enjoy and it might upset some. I would tell my students the same things I'm telling you if I were to suggest this series to them.

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The RPCD was designed to protect endangered monsters—but now somebody is trying to steal them! For a book about fantastical creatures, details about them are sorely lacking. When Ulf leads a tour of the facility, he names numerous creatures, but little or no description about them is given. This is such an overlook as to make the reader want to leave the book right there. Text is also a little too advanced for an audience reading chapter books, with no definition explained for words that show more might require them. Further, illustrations, though inked beautifully, with bold strokes, add little to the text, sometimes even contradicting what the reader would expect—for example, why is Professor Fielding smiling as she autopsies the dragon? The title battle, left to the end and having nothing to do with the book in its entirety, is brief and anticlimactic. Readers wanting action will be disappointed, as will the readers desiring fantastical beasts. show less

Wasn't nearly as good as the first two Beastly Business books, and I'm not sure why. Still, Ulf was cute as always and the pictures were adoreable. As always, love the artwork.