The Abominables - Softcover

Ibbotson, Eva

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1407133020 ISBN 13: 9781407133027

Publisher: Marion Lloyd Books, 2013

Synopsis

A hundred years ago, in the Himalayan peaks of Nanvi Dar, the daughter of an English earl is kidnapped by a huge hairy monster. In a secret valley Agatha Farley is introduced to a family of motherless yetis and devotes her life to their upbringing. She teaches them to speak, tells them stories and insists on polite manners., But as the decades pass, tourists come to the mountains, a hotel is built and yeti-hunters arrive. Agatha knows that there is one place in the world where they would be protected - her ancestral home at Farley Towers. When a boy and his sister stumble upon her hidden valley, she knows she has found the courageous people who will carry out her plan., The excited yetis are smuggled into the bridal suite at the hotel. A freezer lorry is waiting to put them into semi-hibernation on the long trip home. But the baby yak that has fallen in love with the youngest yeti foils the refrigeration plan and they set off on a hugely entertaining road trip half way across the world., In the Sultan of Aslerfan's kingdom the yetis release all the animals from his zoo. In the Alps they rescue a lost child in a blizzard. In Spain, the yak creates chaos at a bullfight., But when they arrive in England, a terrible shock awaits them at Farley Towers... This early novel, never submitted for publication, contains all the trademark qualities that made Eva's subsequent books so successful; comedy, loveable and eccentric characters, perfectly-crafted plotting, and inspiring themes of tolerance, kindness to animals, and the defeat of cruelty.

About this title

Review:

The joyful absurdity of the notion, combined with Ibbotson's wit, warmth, superb characterisation and love of the natural world should make this a classic --The Daily Mail

Luminous, hectic and generous...lovely sharp writing --The Guardian

Charmingly illustrated...this book will have you smiling before the first chapter's end --Newcastle Journal

warm-hearted, funny and full of magical imagination. But as well as humour, there is also a powerful message here about the importance of nature and the environment, protecting endangered species, and opposing cruelty and injustice...a classic in the making. --Booktrust

Charmingly illustrated...this book will have you smiling before the first chapter's end --Newcastle Journal

The Abominables is the sweetest, funniest and most moral of stories...This funny book will make children laugh aloud and read it over and over again for its kindness and humour. For older readers, it presents an unavoidable parallel with the inhuman treatment shown to the Yetis and the cruelty shown to so many vulnerable and persecuted people today. This extra layer of meaning will ensure that as readers grow older, they will return again and again to The Abominables and take from it more and more. --Armadillo Magazine

It s both hilarious and heartbreaking, and anything but straightforward. But this being an old-fashioned kind of story, there has to be something worthwhile at the end...Extremely loveable yeti portraits by Sharon Rentta --Bookwitch

About the Author:

Eva Ibbotson has long been a favorite of both children and adult readers on both sides of the Atlantic. Her novels include "The Secret of Platform 13," "Which Witch?," "The Great Ghost Rescue," "Island of the Aunt," "Dial-a-Ghost," and "Journey to the River Sea," which won the Smarties Prize. She died in 2010, in her home in Newcastle, England.

About this edition

• Publisher: Marion Lloyd Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1407133020
• ISBN 13: 9781407133027
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256
• Illustrator: Rentta Sharon