Author: Clémentine Beauvais
Illustrator: Sarah Horne
Month/Year Published: U.S. Edition expected publication date 5/15/15
You May Know Her: If you live in the United Kingdom where the third Sesame Seade mystery is already on shelves. BTW, she's also an academic at Cambridge and she writes in French as well. Wow!
Review You May Not Have Seen: Since her books are already popular in the United Kingdom, here's the Kirkus review of her first Sesame Seade book published in the U.S.
The Review
Okay, prepare for some name dropping, which I rarely get to do, so please indulge me. About three months ago I was on Twitter and I asked my tweeps for some recommendations for Brit Kid Lit mysteries. So my tweep {here's where the name dropping begins} Robin Stevens {author of MURDER MOST UNLADYLIKE, soon to be released in the US as MURDER IS BAD MANNERS} directed me to Ms. Beauvais and the Sesame Seade mysteries. I tucked that away for future reference.
Fast forward last week to the National Council of Teachers of English conference. I was meandering my way through the exhibit hall when I came to a tiny booth {here is where my name dropping fails me - I have no idea what booth I was at - I am SO SORRY booth!!} where I picked up a cute little book solely on the cover art. Then my eye traveled to the author's name...Beauvais...Beauvais...THINK! "Oh," I said. "Not what you want?" said the lovely lady at The Booth. "No! This is British!!" "Yes," said mystery lady, "it is! I'm very impressed that you knew that!" And then I skipped off with my copy of GARGOYLES GONE A.W.O.L. not believing my luck!! {I even tweeted Ms. Beauvais to let her know <--author name drop}
But enough about me. Welcome to Gargoyles Gone A.W.O.L, the second book in the Sesame Seade Mystery series. Sesame Seade is really Sophie Seade who lives in Cambridge (England, not Mass.) with her parents who seem to be lumps but are really ultimately quite loving. She has two chums that she pals around with {either on roller skates or a too tall bicycle} and this time the mystery involves missing gargoyles. I was a sucker for this book from basically the first page where there is a MAP {who cannot love a book with a map - although is it too late to add The Senate House? - wink, wink} and the fact that there is British jargon, slang, what-have-you, tossed around throughout the book. I'm glad this was left in the US version because frankly, my readers can handle it and honestly, who doesn't love adding a little Brit Lit Lingo to your every day vocabulary. Add a grouchy cat gone suspiciously docile and a red herring hornet and you have GARGOYLES GONE A.W.O.L. {Plus something else that will make most of GGA readers go AWWWWW but even to mention it will give away part of the mystery.}
I thoroughly enjoyed this light-hearted, fast-paced mystery that shall find a place on my library bookshelves for my readers who already enjoy those eclectic and adventuresome Americans Judy Moody and Gooney Bird Greene.
**This review was based on an Advance Reader's Copy I received free of charge from...SO SORRY...at NCTE.
Fast forward last week to the National Council of Teachers of English conference. I was meandering my way through the exhibit hall when I came to a tiny booth {here is where my name dropping fails me - I have no idea what booth I was at - I am SO SORRY booth!!} where I picked up a cute little book solely on the cover art. Then my eye traveled to the author's name...Beauvais...Beauvais...THINK! "Oh," I said. "Not what you want?" said the lovely lady at The Booth. "No! This is British!!" "Yes," said mystery lady, "it is! I'm very impressed that you knew that!" And then I skipped off with my copy of GARGOYLES GONE A.W.O.L. not believing my luck!! {I even tweeted Ms. Beauvais to let her know <--author name drop}
But enough about me. Welcome to Gargoyles Gone A.W.O.L, the second book in the Sesame Seade Mystery series. Sesame Seade is really Sophie Seade who lives in Cambridge (England, not Mass.) with her parents who seem to be lumps but are really ultimately quite loving. She has two chums that she pals around with {either on roller skates or a too tall bicycle} and this time the mystery involves missing gargoyles. I was a sucker for this book from basically the first page where there is a MAP {who cannot love a book with a map - although is it too late to add The Senate House? - wink, wink} and the fact that there is British jargon, slang, what-have-you, tossed around throughout the book. I'm glad this was left in the US version because frankly, my readers can handle it and honestly, who doesn't love adding a little Brit Lit Lingo to your every day vocabulary. Add a grouchy cat gone suspiciously docile and a red herring hornet and you have GARGOYLES GONE A.W.O.L. {Plus something else that will make most of GGA readers go AWWWWW but even to mention it will give away part of the mystery.}
I thoroughly enjoyed this light-hearted, fast-paced mystery that shall find a place on my library bookshelves for my readers who already enjoy those eclectic and adventuresome Americans Judy Moody and Gooney Bird Greene.
**This review was based on an Advance Reader's Copy I received free of charge from...SO SORRY...at NCTE.
