When his mentally unstable uncle's obsessions take an unexpectedly cruel turn, young Stanley Potts is forced to leave and joins a carnival of eccentric characters before meeting the legendary Pancho Pirelli, who swims in piranha tanks and invites Stanleyto become his apprentice. - (Baker & Taylor)
When his mentally unstable uncle's obsessions take an unexpectedly cruel turn, young Stanley Potts is forced to leave and joins a carnival of eccentric characters before meeting the legendary Pancho Pirelli, who swims in piranha tanks and invites Stanley to become his apprentice. - (Baker & Taylor)
A boy escapes home to seek his own way in the world in a whimsical outing by the award-winning David Almond, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.
Stanley Potts’s uncle Ernie has developed an over-the-top fascination with canning fish in the house, and life at 69 Fish Quay Lane has turned barmy. But there’s darkness in the madness, and when Uncle Ernie’s obsession takes an unexpectedly cruel turn, Stan has no choice but to leave. As he journeys away from the life he’s always known, he mingles with a carnival full of eccentric characters and meets the legendary Pancho Pirelli, the man who swims in a tank full of perilous piranhas. Will Stan be bold enough to dive in the churning waters himself and choose his own destiny? - (Random House, Inc.)
David Almond is the winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the most prestigious award in international children’s literature. He is known worldwide as the multi-award-winning author of Skellig, Clay, and many other novels, stories, and plays. With Candlewick, he is the author of My Dad’s a Birdman and The Boy Who Climbed Into the Moon, both illustrated by Polly Dunbar, as well as The Savage, Slog’s Dad, and Mouse Bird Snake Wolf, all illustrated by Dave McKean. David Almond lives in England.
Oliver Jeffers is the author-illustrator of The Incredible Book Eating Boy, which was named a Bisto Book of the Year Honor book, as well as Lost and Found, the recipient of a Nestlé Children’s Book Prize Gold Medal, among several other picture books. He was born in Australia, grew up in Northern Ireland, and now lives in New York City. - (Random House, Inc.)
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Dahl meets J. K., flavored with a soupçon of Choose Your Own Adventure, but in the end, this novel is all pure, sweet Almond. Stanley Potts has lost his parents, but his Aunt Annie and Uncle Ernest have ably stepped in. Then Uncle Ernest goes fish crazy, making a fortune by canning fish in the living room. Stanley is on board until his beloved goldfish get tinned, and he takes off. After joining a carnival, he lives with Mr. Doestesky, the hook-a-duck operator, and his daughter, Nitasha, who has been abandoned by her mother and wishes to become the world's ugliest, fattest bearded lady. Stanley seems an ordinary boy, but those who come in contact with him sense his purity and goodness. So, when Pancho Pirelli appears to perform his great act in which he swims in a tank of piranhas, it's no surprise that he recognizes Stanley as his successor. As with most everything Almond writes, there is the story on paper and then all that churns over and around it. This is as much a meditation on chance, choice, and destiny, as it is a frolicsome tale of a boy who runs away for a circuslike life. In the subtlest ways possible, Almond masterfully makes young readers understand this, and they will be delighted that life lessons can be administered so deliciously. Simple pencil drawings illustrate. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Almond is one of the finest writers for young people working today, which makes anything he writes something to look forward to. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.