The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place
Book I: The Mysterious Howling
By Maryrose Wood; Jon Klassen (Illustrator)
(Balzer + Bray, Hardcover, 9780061791055, 272pp.)
Publication Date: March 2010
Other Editions of This Title: Paperback, Hardcover
Categories: Animals - Wolves, Humorous Stories, Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
 |     |
Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander, age ten or thereabouts, keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia, perhaps four or five, has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf, age somewhere-in-the-middle, is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels.
Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Only fifteen years old and a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position. Though she is eager to instruct the children in Latin verbs and the proper use of globes, first she must help them overcome their canine tendencies.
But mysteries abound at Ashton Place: Who are these three wild creatures, and how did they come to live in the vast forests of the estate? Why does Old Timothy, the coachman, lurk around every corner? Will Penelope be able to teach the Incorrigibles table manners and socially useful phrases in time for Lady Constance's holiday ball? And what on earth is a schottische?
Maryrose Wood began writing fiction after many years performing, directing, and writing for the theater. Her novels for teen readers include The Poison Diaries, Why I Let My Hair Grow Out, and My Life: The Musical. She is also the author of a series for younger readers, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.
Jane Eyre meets Lemony Snicket in this smart, surprising satire. Humorous antics and a climactic cliff-hanger ending will keep children turning pages and clamoring for the next volume, while more sophisticated readers will take away much more. Frequent plate-sized illustrations add wit and period flair.
-School Library Journal (starred review)
“How hearty and delicious...Smartly written with a middle-grade audience in mind, this is both fun and funny and sprinkled with dollops of wisdom (thank you, Agatha Swanburne). How will it all turn out? Appetites whetted.”
-Booklist (starred review)
It’s the best beginning since The Bad Beginning (1999) [by Lemony Snicket] and will leave readers howling for the next episode.
-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Every newspaper and website in America is going to tell you that The Mysterious Howling will leave you HOWLING FOR MORE! So I’m not going to say that. But it’s really good.
-Adam Rex, author of The True Meaning of Smekday
With a Snicketesque affect, Wood’s narrative propels the drama…pervasive humor and unanswered questions should have readers begging for more.
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 |
1Q84 Haruki Murakami Knopf |
 |
The Marriage Plot Jeffrey Eugenides Farrar, Straus, and Giroux |
 |
The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes Knopf |
 |
Death Comes to Pemberley PD James Knopf |
