The Weirding Willows

Gr 7 Up—Elliott has attempted a mash-up of a variety of Victorian fictional characters and places with only marginal success. The author has repurposed characters as diverse as Wells's Dr. Moreau and Beatrix Potter's bunnies and their adversary, Farmer McGregor. The story begins with the Wicked Witch of the West contracting with Dr. Moreau to create for her an army of flying monkeys. Soon, all manner of creatures and characters take the stage, including Moreau's daughter, Alice, of Wonderland fame, and Frankenstein's creation, as well as characters from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book and Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Moreau's vivisectionist tendencies drive off most of the other characters, including Alice, which is about where this introductory episode runs its course. The various artists on the project successfully portray the cast/menagerie, although Alice's steampunk look seems unwarranted and her original appearance in only longish shirt, while hardly scandalous, is certainly suggestive. It is unclear just who the audience is for this work, given the broad range of source material as well as the mixed levels of dialogue, concepts, and art. Young readers might be better served by waiting a few years and then reading similar efforts written for adults like Alan Moore's "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (America's Best Comics) series or Bill Willingham's "Fables" books (Vertigo).—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI