Malamander by Thomas Taylor and Tom Booth - ESSENTIAL

Malamander by Thomas Taylor, illustrated by Tom Booth, 289 pages. Walker Books (Candlewick Press), 2019. $17

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ESSENTIAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Herbie Lemon is the young Lost-and-Founder at a classically old fashioned beach hotel in an eerie town. He is in charge of everything that has been lost at the hotel and returning the items to their owner. When a young girl comes looking for her lost parents, the adventure begins as they must discover the truth about the Malamander and, more specifically, the Malamander egg, to uncover the details of the mystery. 

This is an excellent book for newer sustained attention readers given the larger font and occasional pictures that are not provided at the cost of a detailed story and sentences with interesting structure and dynamic vocabulary choices. The setting and tone are reminiscent of the The Series of Unfortunate Events and will likely engage that reader base. By second grader and my fourth grader both independently read and enjoyed the book.        

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher