AMELIA, THE MERBALLS AND THE EMERALD CANNON

From the “Amelia’s Amazing Space Adventures” series, volume 3

by Evonne Blanchard

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KIRKUS REVIEW

“Adventure, inventiveness, and humor merge in this quirky, appealing tale.”

A space-traveling girl continues gathering items to help save her alien friend’s sister in this third series outing.

In two previous children’s books, 8-year-old Amelia, a white girl with reddish hair, agreed to help Uglesnoo, a three-armed purple alien from Pluto, cure his ailing sister. A repelling crystal from Neptune will heal her, but that planet’s Queen Neep will barter it only in exchange for a long list of objects from around the solar system. Some the duo has already collected, like five boxes of dandelions from Earth. Next on the list: five pairs of flying shoes from Mercury, inhabited by Merballs. Hostile Venutons of Venus, the twosome’s last stop, try to prevent Amelia and Uglesnoo from trading with the Merballs (“Do not keep these criminals. Bring us the prisoners”). But the Merballs are basically friendly and don’t want trouble. They have problems of their own: They are suffering from asteroid strikes that create a sickening fog of dust, hospitalizing many. After another asteroid hit, Amelia and Uglesnoo come under suspicion and are briefly imprisoned. They fall into an old iron mine, from which they escape. Amelia develops a cunning plan to smash the asteroids with a cannon of her design, using raw materials from the mine. If she’s successful and a grateful Empress Ping rewards them with flying shoes, they’ll be one step closer to curing Uglesnoo’s sister—and maybe Amelia will have a chance to try out Mercury’s inviting slide transportation system.

Blanchard (Amelia, the Venutons and the Golden Cage, 2016, etc.) writes a fast-paced tale with a young heroine who’s a quick thinker. Designing and crafting the cannon shows Amelia’s ingenuity and reflects the current interest in maker culture. There’s also plenty of silly fun, such as the green slime floor in the prison cell that almost engulfs Amelia and Uglesnoo, as well as cool tech, like the Plutonian’s multifunctional bed, which plays a role in their escape.

Palmisano’s (An Amazing Circus of Phonograms, 2017) illustrations are colorful and three-dimensional, the mix of Earth and alien characters having a family resemblance in their googly eyes.

Adventure, inventiveness, and humor merge in this quirky, appealing tale.

 

Pub Date: June 19th, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-981496-11-2

Page count: 70pp

Publisher: CreateSpace

Program: Kirkus Indie

Review Posted Online: Sept. 14th, 2018

I Heart Reading Book Review and Giveaway Amelia, The Merballs And The Emerald Cannon

AUGUST 18, 2018 LEAVE A COMMENT

“With aliens, different planets, a good dose of humor and excellent storytelling that is age-appropriate, this is one of the best kids series out there. The illustrations are pretty fun too and fit the story well.” I Heart Reading.

I previously read and reviewed Amelia, the Venutons and the Golden Cage, book two in the series, and really enjoyed it. So, when I had the opportunity to read book three, Amelia, the Merballs and the Emerald Cannon, of course I couldn’t say no.

With the second book, I was amazed by how creative the author was, and I have to say, this third book is even more original, fun and creative!

In this book, Amelia and Uglesnoo land on Mercury where they meet the Merballs. All seems to go pretty well, until an asteroid hits Mercury, and the Merballs areconvinced Amelia and Uglesnoo are somehow involved. With aliens, different planets, a good dose of humor and excellent storytelling that is age-appropriate, this is one of the best kids series out there. The illustrations are pretty fun too and fit the story well.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

INFORMATION
AMELIA, THE VENUTONS AND THE GOLDEN CAGE Evonne Blanchard Illus. byMikeMotz.com CreateSpace (62 pp.) $10.95 paperback, $4.99 e-book ISBN: 978-1-5236-3671-6; March 15, 2016

A lively sequel offers a sure-handed blend of fantasy, humor, adventure, and an ingenious heroine.
BOOK REVIEW
In this second installment of a space-travel fantasy series for young readers, a little girl and her purple alien pal visit Venus.
At the end of the first book in Amelia’s Amazing Space Adventures chapter-book series, the 8-year-old title character returns from a trip to the moon with her new friend Uglesnoo, a three-armed visitor from Pluto. The two are working their way through the solar system (one planet per volume, it seems) to locate items necessary to save Uglesnoo’s sister from an “endless sleep” and to find an antidote for the rafter-raising snores of Amelia’s sibling. Next stop: Venus, to collect “20 Bliss Bubbles” in exchange for 10 boxes of “Moo-Bon” candy, acquired from the Moochin moon dwellers as a reward for helping them reclaim their underwater Sapphire Palace. Venus is home to catlike “Venutons,” who breathe out silver “bliss bubbles” while sleeping. (These can be cut and knotted at the ends like balloons. The deeper the sleep, the larger the bubbles.) Awakened, the Venutons make it clear that bliss bubble collectors are not welcome. After betrayal by cave-dwelling rabbit creatures, imprisonment in a rolling golden cage shaped like a giant ball of yarn, and a tussle aboard Uglesnoo’s spaceship with one last vengeful Venuton, the pair escapes thanks to Amelia’s quick thinking. Dispensing with the realities of planetary science, Blanchard (Amelia, the Moochins and the Sapphire Palace, 2014) has fun with her imaginary solar system and its inhabitants. Readers should, too. But as wacky as things get (chocolate rain from an “Interspecies Feeder”), Blanchard also delivers thoughtful balance (“The stars scattered like spilled sugar in the inky darkness”). She grounds her plot, too, in Amelia’s relatable moments of uncertainty and her ability to use her head to solve dilemmas as well as in helpful reminders of the escapade’s central purpose: curing Uglesnoo’s sister. Motz’s full-bleed, cartoon-style illustrations, mixed with variously colored text-only pages, reflect the book’s offbeat appeal.
A lively sequel offers a sure-handed blend of fantasy, humor, adventure, and an ingenious heroine.
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Book Review: Amelia, the Moochins, and the Sapphire Palace 4/22/2015 It is Amelia’s birthday. She enjoys all her presents, but is surprised to get a toy that she can’t quite identify. It is not quite an octopus, and not quite anything else either. It turns out it is not a toy at all, but an alien who has landed on Earth and takes her on an adventure around the solar system. As a sci-fi and fantasy fan, this short chapter book was a fun departure from the much more realistic stories that I usually read with my children. The story is imaginative and fun, and shows Amelia problem solving and exploring. It is important that you view this as a fantasy book, rather than something to teach your children about space. For one thing, the alien says he is from the planet Pluto, which as we all know has been declassified. 😉 That aside, it was a fun read, and a perfect book to stretch my oldest in his independent reading with something fun to keep his attention. Suggested Activities Draw a map of the solar system. You can either draw it realistically, or make up your own universe and planets. Go on an adventure in your neighborhood. See if you can find somewhere to explore that you have never done before. You could even write a story about it to send to a grandparent or friend in the mail. Create a scavenger hunt for your child and find all the items, just like Amelia helps find the list of items in the book. This book uses a lot of descriptive words. Put objects in a bag and take turns pulling one out and describing it in as much detail as you can. To make a group game you can blindfold everyone, and have one person describe the object to everyone else and see who can guess what it is first. You May Also Enjoy Reading… Discussion Questions Have you ever had to do something hard to help someone else? What was it? Do you enjoy going to new places? Or is it scary? What can help it be fun? What was your favorite new word you learned in this book? How have you overcome a fear that you have?