Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Nurk The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew

Nurk The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew by Ursula Vernon
Nurk is a quiet homebody of a shrew. But when a mysterious plea for help arrives in the mail, he invokes the spirit of his fearless warrior-shrew grandmother, Surka, and sets off to find the sender. It seems the prince of the dragonflies has been kidnapped, and Nurk is his last hope for rescue. Such a mission would be daunting for even the biggest, baddest, and bravest of shrews, and Nurk is neither big nor bad, and only a little brave. But he does his very best--and hopes his grandmother would be proud.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you're looking for a book the whole family can enjoy -- this is the book. If you're looking for a book for your pre-teens with a vocabulary-expanding text and winsome illustrations -- this is the book. If your child is not quite ready for the Redwall series, but you'd like to introduce them to that type of literature -- this is the book. If you're looking for something to read out loud to keep your children entertained on a wet summer afternoon or a long car ride, this is the book.

Anonymous said...

A good, solid children's fantasy story with periodic brilliant moments. Vernon's imagination is truly inspired, bringing us a tree of unripe salmon and the often-abstruse scribblings of Nurk's warrior/fighter/dishwasher/pirate queen grandmother, as well as more predictable figures like the flighty adolescent dragonfly princess. Nurk himself is terribly endearing. This book should have wide appeal.