Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures by Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater | 2015 | Scholastic Press | Hardcover $16.99
Pip is a girl who can talk to magical creatures. Her aunt is a vet for magical creatures. And her new friend Tomas is allergic to most magical creatures. When things go amok — and they often go amok — Pip consults Jeffrey Higgleston’s Guide to Magical Creatures, a reference work that Pip finds herself constantly amending. Because dealing with magical creatures like unicorns, griffins, and fuzzles doesn’t just require book knowledge — it requires hands-on experience and thinking on your feet.
Disclosure statement: I received an ARC of this title from the publisher; special thanks to my coworker who brought it back from the Texas Library Association conference.
This was so cute and fun! I’m so glad I got a chance to read it.
Here’s the premise: This world is very much like ours, except populated with various magical creatures that people can sometimes keep as pets. You know, unicorns and the like. Young Pip has a secret — she can talk to them and understand them! Unfortunately, this special ability has gotten her into a little bit of trouble.
I was totally charmed by Pip and her little friend, Tomas, who happens to be allergic to just about everything (the poor dear). One of the things I like about these characters is that they’re fairly quiet, unassuming kids — not that there’s anything wrong with boisterous, confident main characters, not at all, it’s just that sometimes it is nice to see the background nerd types get their own adventures. I personally relate to them a little more, anyway.
A big part of the fun of this book is the detail the authors put into all the various types of magical creatures that come up. We get to meet a HobGrackle, a Miniature Silky Griffin, the adorably terrible Tribble-like Fuzzles, and even a… well, I won’t spoil the ending for you, haha.
One of the other really fantastic things about this book is that one of the authors, Maggie Stiefvater, did all of the illustrations for it. Authors don’t always get to illustrate their own books, so that’s kind of a big deal. Stiefvater is the sort of person who paints designs on walls in her own house and makes custom tarot cards to go with her own young adult fantasy book series; she’s as much of an artist as she is an author.
It was a lot of fun watching these two authors go on tour together for this book via social media. I wish I’d gotten a chance to see them in person!
This book could be a good choice for any pre-teen fantasy buff in your life, especially if they like to spend all their time daydreaming about their very own pet dragon or doodling little made-up creatures in the corner of homework assignments.
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Publication information: Pearce, Jackson and Maggie Stiefvater. Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures. New York: Scholastic Press, 2015. Print.
Source: Provided by publisher, via the Texas Library Association conference.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.