Trapped for decades,
she awakens hungry,
violently hungry…
Every time ancient Zilombo is reborn, the monster from deep in an African lake has new and frightening powers that help her hunt – this time in England!
Try out three chapters for free here and you’ll be hooked as Jin, Frankie, and Mizz Z go after The Monster in the Mudball along the Oozeburn River’s littered shores.
Do you hear the shivery jangle of a bottle cap anklet… or is it just me?
**kmm
Book info: Monster in the Mudball (An Artifact Inspector Book) / S. P. Gates. Tu Books, 2013. [author biography] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.
My book talk: A baby, a monster older than the world, and a mysterious inspector – Jin and Frankie need the last one to help them rescue the first one from the middle one, before Zilombo eats him!
No one would expect that dusty old ball of mud contained an African monster which would gladly eat anything, especially when the mudball had been high on a shelf in a small British house for 20 years. How the dried dirt became mud again, hatched out its oversize feet and huge-clawed hands, escaped from its exile just before the Inspector of Ancient Artifacts arrived on her annual inspection… Jin knows, and Mizz Z the inspector knows that his baby brother is in great danger if this Zilombo monster isn’t caught – soon!
After such a long imprisonment, ancient Zilombo needs food and a hiding place, so she runs toward the scent of water, finding a secret spot near the river and sniffing for the delicious scent of that Smiler baby – oh, how she will enjoy eating it!
Jin and Mizz Z are on Zilombo’s trail, recruiting big sister Frankie along the way, but they may be too late, as baby Smiler chooses this night to take his first steps at Grandma and Grandad Tang’s riverside house.
Why does Mizz Z know so much about this ancient monster?
What new powers does Zilombo have in her newest form?
Can Jin and Frankie really save their baby brother?
Wild adventure along the muddy banks of the deceptively calm Oozeburn River as Jin, Frankie, and Mizz Z try to recapture the monster with her jangling ankle bracelet of soda bottle caps before she strikes again. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)
I wonder if the monster stems from African folk lore? My son would like this; he likes Riordan action adventure. Thanks so much for linking up to the Multicultural Children’s Book Day! We appreciate your wonderful posts. I am also pinning to our Multicultural Books for Kids Board.
http://www.pinterest.com/pragmaticmom/multicultural-books-for-kids/