Children's Book Review: The Oddmire, Book 1: Changeling
By Jenn Seiler-Patrick, Five Points West Regional Branch Library
The Oddmire, Book 1: Changeling
William Ritter
This adventurous book begins with a fairy tale bungle. Traditionally, when a changeling is born in the goblin world, they are switched with a human child, in order to sell the human to the fairies. However, in this case, the goblin performing the switch almost got caught, and both babies were left in the crib! The magic inherent in changelings means that the children look like twins. They grow up together knowing that one is a human and one is not, but both boys are so mischievous that neither they, nor their mother, are ever able to determine who is the real child as they grow up brothers. Then one day, they receive a note saying that the changeling must return to the Wild Wood or it, along with its magic, will die. The boys venture to the wood together, and they find mysterious and dark characters that both help and hinder them along the way.
Changeling is just dark and scary enough to keep you on your toes, without being too intense for your middle-graders to be able to sleep at night. The pacing is superb, and the characters are so relatable, interesting, and multi-dimensional. I am definitely looking forward to learning more about the Wild Wood and its magical creatures in the Oddmire sequel!
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William Ritter
This adventurous book begins with a fairy tale bungle. Traditionally, when a changeling is born in the goblin world, they are switched with a human child, in order to sell the human to the fairies. However, in this case, the goblin performing the switch almost got caught, and both babies were left in the crib! The magic inherent in changelings means that the children look like twins. They grow up together knowing that one is a human and one is not, but both boys are so mischievous that neither they, nor their mother, are ever able to determine who is the real child as they grow up brothers. Then one day, they receive a note saying that the changeling must return to the Wild Wood or it, along with its magic, will die. The boys venture to the wood together, and they find mysterious and dark characters that both help and hinder them along the way.
Changeling is just dark and scary enough to keep you on your toes, without being too intense for your middle-graders to be able to sleep at night. The pacing is superb, and the characters are so relatable, interesting, and multi-dimensional. I am definitely looking forward to learning more about the Wild Wood and its magical creatures in the Oddmire sequel!
If you like Changeling, you may also like...
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