Gr 4 Up—Nell lives in the magical town of Gumbling, but to the folks who nest there, it’s just home—until a pair of
siblings arrive to transform it into Castletown, setting up a “small town vs. big development” conflict. This sweet and quirky story of magical adventures, friendship angst, and the challenges of growing up is told through Nell’s
illustrated journal and will charm readers.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Emma Steinkellner is a treat as always, the OK witch is one of my favorites, and I absolutely love the art, the characters, and the... Just the total heart put into every page. It reminds me a lot of the Amelia's notebook series by Marissa Moss that I grew up reading, that kind of journal/notebook style is really endearing.

A treat as always!

Extremely slow-paced but it's charming. I absolutely love the blend of the fantastical and the mundane.

3.5 ( )

Nell hopes for an apprenticeship with a famous artist, but instead gets stuck with lorekeeping, which she thinks is boring (until she finds some old illustrated stories and begins making her own comics based on them). Meanwhile, their town is threatened by a pair of siblings claiming to be the lost prince and princess and wanting to turn Gumbling into Castleworld. Nell and her friends use their deep knowledge of their town to go on a treasure hunt to find the key to Gumbling.

More text-heavy than most graphic novels because it's told in part through Nell's journal entries, this is a delightful, low-key magical, incredibly diverse and charming tale.

Quotes

Of course, it's probably good to not always get what you want. Helps you grow and become a better person. But it's hard to actually feel yourself growing in real time. And it's very easy to feel the other part - being disappointed and wishing things were different. (36)

"...the first step to getting involved is caring. And it sounds to me like you care a whole lot what happens to our town and the people in it." (106)

"I just want to stop feeling jealous and bad." (108)

"Because I grew to recognize what was already here in Gumbling that made all of us very rich indeed. And that was enough. Sometimes we just need something illuminated for us to notice it's there." (King Lubberly/Herdburt Blithely, 183)

"They're not just fairy tales. It's our history....Gumbling is special because of everyone who's already here, everyone who loves it just the way it is." (194-5)

We're celebrating that we're already proud of where we come from. We're celebrating a community that takes care of one another and makes sure everyone has food and a place to live. It's not fancy or exciting. And maybe it's only magical and fairy tale-ish in a kind of dull way. But that works for us. (200) ( )

This book was magical. It’s part graphic novel, part, heavily illustrated middle grade fantasy. Knell lives on a star farm. Her best friend is a fairy, her second-best friend is a thumbkin, and the school know it all is a centaur. They were all getting ready to start new apprenticeships. Nell wants to be an artist however, her teacher assigned her to work with the Lore keeper. This book is expository in nature as it’s told in journal entries, and it’s very well done. The reader keeps flipping pages not only because they can feel and understand the way Nell is feeling, but you want to know what’s happening in this unique town. When some strangers come to town saying they’re descendants of the king, and they want to make this a new roller coaster loving tourist attraction, it’s up to Knell, and her friends find information and the keys to the kingdom to keep the new people out. This was a fun and loving book and I really truly hope that there is a sequel. ( )