
Author: M.T. Anderson, Eugene Yelchin
RU Level: Secondary
The elfin historian, Brangwain Spurge, is sent,by catapult into the Goblin Kingdom to spy while under the guise of delivering a historical peace offering. An elf hasn't returned from this kind of mission in over 100 years! The goblin Werfel is assigned to be Brangwain's host. Are they friends? Are they enemies? Because of a series of extraordinary events these two find themselves in the middle of a war and certain death. Brangwain sends mind messages back to his elfin superior which are shown as consecutive full page illustrations; however, the narrative of the same event described by Werful is not the same!
This book may be read on many different levels from a good, fun story to political satire. The use of conflicting illustrations/narrative provides a fun twist. Many believe that this book should have been the 2019 Newbery winner.
While suggested for secondary readers, some advanced middle-grade readers may enjoy the humor and illustration/text combination of the story without worrying about the deeper meaning. A little violence is described but is not graphic.
RU Level: Secondary
The elfin historian, Brangwain Spurge, is sent,by catapult into the Goblin Kingdom to spy while under the guise of delivering a historical peace offering. An elf hasn't returned from this kind of mission in over 100 years! The goblin Werfel is assigned to be Brangwain's host. Are they friends? Are they enemies? Because of a series of extraordinary events these two find themselves in the middle of a war and certain death. Brangwain sends mind messages back to his elfin superior which are shown as consecutive full page illustrations; however, the narrative of the same event described by Werful is not the same!
This book may be read on many different levels from a good, fun story to political satire. The use of conflicting illustrations/narrative provides a fun twist. Many believe that this book should have been the 2019 Newbery winner.
While suggested for secondary readers, some advanced middle-grade readers may enjoy the humor and illustration/text combination of the story without worrying about the deeper meaning. A little violence is described but is not graphic.