Whales on Stilts!

This adventure story is funny from its dedication to its final scene. Three friends, two of them already literary child heroes, thwart a plan for whales to take over the world. Full of visual jokes, terrible puns, and laser eyeballs, the story pokes searing fun at childhood adventure series.
It is almost too self-concious to be charming, but it is enjoyable, and I will pick up the next book in the series - I am eager to see what the 'Cutesy Dell twins' will be like!

2010, January 23

Oh, I'm loving this. I'm trying to force the Offspring into loving it, too, by reading passages aloud, but no one else is hooked. Funniest concept since Howie Monroe and the Doghouse of Doom.

***

If the Spouse wrote a parody of children's series books, it would be this book. I recommend it to adults who'll laugh at jokes about the British invasion and David Bowie's eyes.

***

Now I'm reading it aloud to the KitKatPandaBatWolf. I love this little book.

Library copy

Hilarious, bizarre, and a joy to read. I love MT Andersons humor and this book was in just the right place between parody and loving homage. Features references to pulp horror and scifi, old movies, and classic radio serials.

A screwball comic novel about Lily Gefelty who accompanies her father to his job on Career Day and suspects that his boss is implementing a sinister plot: a takeover of the world by whales. Boss Larry is a half-human, half-whale who conceals his appearance at the office with a grain sack. Everyone else at the company appears to see nothing amiss about Larry or the fact that they manufacture stilts for whales. It's up to Lily and her superhero friends Jasper Dash and Katie Mulligan to foil Larry's dastardly plan.

I picked this up at the library to read to the boys but they seem to have no interest when I try to read to them lately. So, I just read it to myself here and there. It's written for ages 10 and up and just so, so witty. I quite enjoyed his silly sense of humor and smart writing style. I'd really recommend it to any kids out there who love reading smart fiction.

I find this book hilarious and wonderful and terribly imaginative - kind of a meta-novel in parts. An 'ordinary' girl is friends with two comic book heroes and is waiting for something interesting to happen to her - it definitely does. She and her friends have to figure out what is going on at her father's work before whales take over the world.

Katie Mulligan and Jasper Dash are both stars of their own series of children’s books –Horror Hollow and Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut respectively. So it’s a bit of a surprise when it’s their best friend Lily Gefelty, just an average 12-year-old, who discovers the mad scientist plotting to take over the world using mind-controlled whales on mechanical stilts. The three friends will have to work together using all their skills to stop this dastardly plot. Whales on Stilts has thrilling action scenes, fascinating science-fiction gadgets, nail-biting suspense and extreme silliness!

Delightfully silly on several levels, Whales on Stilts lampoons series such as Goosebumps and Tom Swift while also paying homage to them. Anderson has show more included several extras like footnotes, order forms for the fictional book series he references, and book discussion materials. While there will be some children who won't enjoy the humor, there will be plenty who will greatly enjoy the sci-fi and fantasy elements mixed with deadpan jokes and plenty of action. Adult readers who fondly remember pulp novels, might also be attracted to this.

Cover to Cover Book Discussion selection for December 2008.

Previously read April 2007. show less