Dreadful acts

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Dreadful acts

Title:

Dreadful acts

Author:

Ardagh, Philip, author.

Rayner, Martin, narrator.

Series:

Eddie Dickens trilogy ;

Series Number:

Summary:

Twelve-year-old Eddie Dickens survives encounters with an escape artist in a runaway hearse's coffin, a hot air balloon bearing the escape artist's lovely assistant, a gas explosion, and a jewel thief on the run.

General Note:

Compact disc.

Sequel to: A house called Awful End.

Sequel: Terrible Times.

Edition:

Unabridged ed.

Physical Description:

3 sound discs (2 hr., 31 min.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.

Genre:

Action and adventure fiction.

Humorous fiction.

Audiobooks.

Subject Term:

Great-aunts -- Fiction.

Great-uncles -- Fiction.

Escape artists -- Fiction.

Thieves -- Fiction.

Author(s):

Rayner, Martin,

Publisher:

Random House/Listening Library,

Publication Date:

2003

ISBN:

9780807220047

Publication Information:

New York : Random House/Listening Library, p2003.

Call Number:

CDB J ARDAGH

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607001698581	Juvenile Books on CDs	ARDAGH	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

In this eagerly awaited sequel to A House Called Awful End , Eddie Dickens narrowly avoids being blown up, trampled by horses, hit by a hot-air balloon, and arrested--only to find himself falling head over heels for a girl with a face like a camel's and into the hands of a murderous gang of escaped convicts, up on the misty moors, who have a "little job" for him to do.
All the old favorites are here--including Mad Uncle Jack and Malcolm (or is it Sally?) the stuffed stoat--along with some worrying-looking new ones. Beware

Summary

Life is never easy for Eddie Dickens. In this hearty installment of the Eddie Dickens Trilogy, he narrowly avoids being blown up, trampled by horses, hit by a hot-air balloon, and arrested - only to find himself falling heels over head for a girl with a face like a camel's. He also falls into the hands of a murderous gang of escaped convicts. They have 'a little job' for him to do. A good time will be had by all. Except Eddie.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-Eddie Dickens, hero of A House Called Awful End (Holt, 2002), returns. This time, his adventures begin with a bang, or rather a boom, as his father accidentally blows a large hole in the house by lighting a match after leaving the gas on. The noise spooks a pair of horses that have mysteriously appeared in the yard, trailing a hearse with a coffin inside. To the boy's horror, the coffin begins to open-and The Great Zucchini, a famous escapologist whose latest trick has gone horribly wrong, emerges. Suddenly, Eddie finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of activity in which he is thrown in jail, kidnapped by escaped convicts, and involved in a mad chase across the moors. Ardagh keeps the tone light and engages in a nonstop stream of wordplay and general zaniness. The characters in this quirky British series are purely stock, and the plot is deliberately far-fetched. Fans of Monty Python's style of humor will appreciate the constant verbal wit, slapstick, and random plot twists. Others will find the narration grating and hard to follow. Roberts's dark line drawings (a cross between the art of Edward Gorey and Shel Silverstein) appear throughout the text. A glossary provides definitions for some of the Briticisms and more obscure words. Not an essential purchase, this book may occupy Lemony Snicket's fans who are anxiously awaiting the next installment in that series.-Ashley Larsen, Woodside Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

Novel sequels and series additions will keep young readers riveted. In a starred review of Philip Ardagh's debut title in the Eddie Dickens Trilogy, A House Called Awful End, illus. by David Roberts, PW said, "Adult fans of Bleak House and Oliver Twist will appreciate Ardagh's clever crafting, and kids who lap up Lemony Snicket's series will take quickly to this tale and clamor for the next." Well, here's the next: Dreadful Acts. First, 12-year-old Eddie's home erupts in a gas explosion. Then, he meets the Great Zucchini, an escape artist whose coffin is propelled from the back of a passing hearse by the force of the blast. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Excerpts

Eddie found himself being lifted up by the neck, something that'd only been done to him once before (by a not-so-charming woman called Mrs. Cruel-Streak) and that hadn't been half so frightening as it was now, having it done by an escaped convict in a cave, up on the misty moors when no one knew where he was. --from Dreadful Act Excerpted from Dreadful Acts by Philip Ardagh All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.