The Abominables

Gr 3–6—This far-fetched tale moves listeners from the Himalayas to England. Agatha is kidnapped as a child by a yeti, who takes her away to his home so that she can raise and instruct his children. When a hotel threatens their seclusion, the now-aged Agatha trusts in two children to get the yetis to her family home in England. Their adventures include rescuing St. Bernards, freeing zoo animals, and ending a bullfight. Upon arrival, they find their destination taken over by a hunter's club that decides to kill the yetis for sport—in Antarctica. The kids rally other children to protest at the castle, and Prince Charles comes through to save them. If readers can suspend skepticism and roll with the outrageous plot, they might find nuggets of wisdom in this rollicking tale. Younger audiences will empathize with the plight of the animals. Older readers might compare the yetis' plight with that of the author herself as a Jewish child escaping the Nazis. Aptly narrated by Kate Locke, whose British inflections lend themselves to this telling.—Deb Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI