Measle
and the Wrathmonk by Ian Ogilvy
Published by Oxford University Press, 2004
ISBN 0192719521
Reviewed by
Shannon Children’s Book Club
Measle Stubbs, the hero of this book, is a very unfortunate boy.
He lives with his slithery guardian Basil Tramplebone in his dark
cold house. Basil is a nasty creature, who starves and neglects
Measle while spending his inheritance on himself. Measle’s
only relief from this miserable existence are trips to the attic
to watch Basil play with his elaborate train set.
His adventure
begins when he decides to lure Basil out of the house so he can
play with the train set himself. But Basil returns in a fury realising
he has been tricked and shrinks Measle down to the size of one of
the little train set people. Measle soon realises that this is no
ordinary train set and that Basil has an even more sinister and
magical side to him. Measle and the people he meets in the train
set must defeat Basil and free themselves before its too late.
After a slow
start this book is a page turner, a great adventure story with just
the right amount of scary bits and magic thrown in. The group enjoyed
“Measle”, the range of characters he encounters and
they way they work together as a group. They did feel however that
the plot was predictable and that, the lonely orphan defeating his
evil guardian, may have been done one time too many. Well worth
reading 7 ½/10
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