The Magnificent Monsters of Cedar Street

In this thoughtful adventure set in the late 19th century, a girl who helps her veterinarian father to treat wounded monsters must locate her dad after he is apparently abducted—along with the myriad creatures living in their rambling Boston home. With little more than a threatening note to go on, Cordelia Clay, 12, and her newfound friend Gregory must track down the villain responsible in a world that doesn’t know about the existence of dragons, zombie puppies, and their ilk, and treats social outcasts with cruelty. As Cordelia and Gregory’s quest takes them to a traveling circus in New York, a Canadian university, and back home, they find a terrifying threat to monsters everywhere while exploring the idea that “the monsters people name are not the real danger... it’s the monsters who name themselves that you really have to watch out for.” Oliver’s (Broken Things) marvelous historical fantasy hits just the right tone of sincerity and whimsy; alongside weighty themes “of violence, of hatred, of cages and isolation,” an excerpt from A Guide to Monsters and Their Habits describes many of the beasties in enough detail to ground the premise and bring the monsters to life, and occasional illustrations by Aldridge (Estranged) give a realistically fantastic feel to the meaningful text. Ages 8–12. [em](Feb.) [/em]