When Ben Silverstein is sent to the rundown town of Buttonville to spend the summer with his grandfather, he's certain it will be the most boring vacation ever. That is, until his grandfather's cat brings home what looks like . . . a baby dragon?
Amazed, Ben enlists the help of Pearl Petal, a local girl with an eye for adventure. They take the wounded dragon to the only veterinarian's office in town -- Dr. Woo's Worm Hospital. But as Ben and Pearl discover once they are inside, Dr. Woo's isn't a worm hospital at all -- it's actually a secret hospital for imaginary creatures.
After Ben accidentally leaves the hospital's front door unlocked, a rather large, rather stinky, andvery hairy beast escapes into Buttonville. Ben and Pearl are tasked with retrieving the runaway creature, and what started out as an ordinary summer becomes the story of a lifetime.
Suzanne Selfors delivers a wild journey filled with mythical creatures and zany adventures that are anything but imaginary.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful.
Fun new series for young imaginative readers
By Jennifer Donovan
When Ben Silverstein's grandfather picks him up from the airport to take him to Buttonville where he's been sent by his parents for the summer, things don't look so good. Ben has already gotten in trouble for telling "stories," designed to convince his mom to let him stay home. The town is nothing like his home in Los Angeles. It's a sad and run-down town, and I felt sad for Ben, driving in silence with his grandfather and wondering how he was going to survive his summer.But before too long, things look like they might get better. Grandpa Abe turns out to be a kindhearted guy who encourages Ben's friendship with Pearl, even though the rest of the town sees her as a troublemaker. It turns out that it's generally a case of being a little scatterbrained and not thinking before she does things like pours blue dye in a neighbor's fish pond. But her fearless initiative is just what Ben needs when he finds what looks like a baby dragon. Pearl is sure that she saw a flying dragon land on the roof of the old button factory, and she finally convinces Ben to go with her to check it out.The factory has a sign on it saying it's now Dr. Woo's Worm Hospital, but when her assistant Mr. Tabby sees what they've brought, he lets them in and they find out the truth, that it's a hospital for creatures from the Imaginary World, creatures who must never mix with the Known World. Unfortunately, they don't close the gate behind them and a Sasquatch who is currently being treated for a foot fungus gets out, unleashing the Imaginary World on the unsuspecting citizens of the Known World of Buttonville.Mr. Tabby believes that Pearl and Ben should make it right, and send them out with the Sasquatch Catching Kit.I enjoy books that suspend reality a bit and encourage kids to have an imaginative spirit. That's exactly what books did for me when I was a kid. A giant mythical creature aside, the adventure of Ben and Pearl, and the hint of further adventure to come, allows kids to imagine that they themselves might be one day asked to help capture something and return it -- and their town -- to safety. This is a shorter chapter book, perfect for younger readers first taking on chapter books, but also equally interesting to older kids who like shorter books. It's 200 pages long, but it has large print and fun and evocative drawings from Dan Santat throughout, which breaks up the text and adds to the story. I do not remember any objectionable content such as questionable language bad attitudes that would make it inappropriate for younger readers.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
A real hit with my grandson!
By ARC
I ordered this book for my 6 year old grandson, who was coming to visit us for a week. He's not quite reading on his own yet, and just about to start first grade. We are all avid readers in our family, and I wanted to be sure he develops a love of books too. I read the book out loud to him and his eight year old sister (she is a fantastic reader) each evening at bed time. We finished it the night before they were due to return home. I was SO happy to hear him say, "I love the Sasquatch Book; it's the best book I've ever read!" Both children enjoyed the illustrations, and my very active grandson relaxed and listened with great attention as I read the text.Needless to say, I've already pre-ordered book two in the series to be shipped to him as soon as it is published, so my daughter or son-in-law can read it to him at their home. My thanks to the author for this great series!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.Enjoyable Read for adults and an 8-year old
By JYFC
My 8 year old daughter and I have been reading this book together as a general reading requirement for her third grade class. The level is appropriate for a third grader with a few difficult words thrown in. The chapters can be a tad long for a child to read (averaging15 pages) but definitely doable. The story was entertaining and had many laugh out loud parts for my daughter. I found it to be well written and would recommend this book. We have ordered and pre ordered the second and third installments.
