Maw Books Blog

My husband is the one who actually checked out Horns & Wrinkles by Joseph Helgerson from the library. I wasn’t planning on reading it, but I admit that the illustrations are amazing and I couldn’t help cracking it open to see what it was like. Before I knew it, I’d read the whole thing. I thought it was a shame that the illustrator, Nicoletta Ceccoli, only received credit on the copyright page because I think the book was so much better because of them. I eagerly anticipated each new chapter with it’s fun illustration. Would it have been the same reading experience with no illustrations or a different illustrator? No.  The illustrations carried this one for me.  They set the mood for me.  That’s not to say the story wasn’t great because I enjoyed it.

From the book jacket:

How can you tell if a river’s under a spell? River trolls, rock trolls, blue-wing fairies—the usual suspects—the stretch of the Mississippi where Claire lives has rumors of them all, not that she’s ever spotted any. But then Claire’s cousin Duke takes a swim and sprouts a horn—a long, pointy, handsome thing. After that, Claire doesn’t have much choice but to believe that something rivery is going on, especially since she’s the only one who can help Duke lose his new addition.

In the tradition of grand river adventures, Joseph Helgerson’s tale is as twisty and unpredictable as the Mississippi River itself, while an unusual cast of characters adds pepper to the pot. Readers of all ages will enjoy getting in—and out of—trouble with Claire and Duke in this nimble, sharp, and funny fantasy.

The characters were fun, the setting was fun, the story was fun. Overall, a fun, creative book. Hmm . . . what else. That’s not giving you much. Debi over at Nothing of Importance wrote a wonderful review that is much more insightful than this one, so go take a look. Horns & Wrinkles would be a perfect read-a-loud for children of any age. This was a nice escape for the overly tired mom (obviously me) who needed a break from reading depressing books about war. And it did just that.