Reviews for Little T and the Dragons Tooth

The average rating for Little T and the Dragons Tooth based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-09-08 00:00:00 Zachary Arnold In this one, somewhat like the last Ibbotson I read (Dial-a-Ghost), a family of ghosts find themselves homeless after many centuries, for modern humans can never seem to leave any place alone, or any one (human, animal, or ghost) to live their lives in peace, covering everything with concrete, noise, and garbage, and destroying any bit of nature they can lay their hands on. But luckily for this family, headed by the Gliding Kilt and his wife, the Hag, they meet a little boy at his school, Rick, who empathises with his fellow creatures and sets out to help them get a sanctuary for ghosts. Soon news of their 'mission' spreads all over, and various ghosts and other creatures begin to join them. The youngest of the ghost family, Humphrey is called Humphrey the Horrible, but is anything but horrible. But when their path to securing their sanctuary turns out to be riddled with far more danger than they had anticipated, it is Humphrey who has to act, to save his family, the other ghosts, and himself. This was once again a fun read but much more than just an adventure story with ghosts. The author, as I read from her bio had moved to England from Vienna, from where her family had to flee during the Nazi regime, and this book certainly reflects those experiences. There are places where she expressly talks about people who are not wanted because they are different, but really the whole book is about that as well'that everyone, animal, human, even ghost or vampire-bat is entitled to a place where they can live securely and happily. These creatures may be different but perhaps the real horror is caused by humans who seem to keep destroying everything, animals' habitats, food sources, open spaces, and then target the animals for whatever they do in their desperation; target those who are 'different' just for being so. Another point that stands out is how we judge others so readily, yet rarely evaluate our own actions. But I am making it sound all serious'while these themes are indeed what stand out, this is also an adventure story, where there are ghosts of various sorts in need of a home, a perilous journey to be made to find that home and even a villain to be defeated to finally achieve it, and this book has all those elements and also some touches of humour. Though more serious than what I had in mind for Halloween, this was still an enjoyable and fun read! A version of this appears on my blog here:

Review # 2 was written on 2019-11-12 00:00:00 Steve Topalian Well, for the most part, I have found Eva Ibbotson's 1975 children's novel The Great Ghost Rescue fun and engaging (full of both laugh out loud and sly humour as well as being imbued with just enough mild icky creepiness, but also presenting much wisdom and many important but never in my opinion too overly didactic messages regarding ecology and especially promoting an appreciation of and for history and that older buildings, castles and such should not automatically be considered as passé, as needing to be modernised or worse, actually needing to be torn down to make room for newer and supposedly therefore better and superior constructions and buildings). And yes, for a middle grade novel, The Great Ghost Rescue is actually surprisingly nuanced and with for the most part good if not delightful character development. For I do love how young Rick not only immediately takes charge and tries to start working on a plan to recuse the United Kingdom's displaced ghosts and to find them a government ordained official sanctuary (as so many of them are being turned out of their ancestral castles and homes due to modernity, so-called evolution and development) but that Rick is also willing and able to challenge his own beliefs and to make changes as necessary (such as for example, realising that his own consumption of meat is not really all that different from vampire bats needing to consume blood in order to stay alive), not to mention that at the end of The Great Ghost Rescue when all danger is past, when the exorcists have been trounced and order has been restored at Insleyfarne, Rick also makes sure that ghost friend Humphrey receives the accolades and praise he so richly deserves (for having gone to fetch Rick back to Insleyfarne at the proverbial nick of time) by stating that from now on Humphrey should be known as Humphrey the Heroic (that if Rick is to have the moniker of Rick the Rescuer, then Humphrey for his own courage at leaving by himself and indeed very ill and weak due to the exorcisms to search for Rick and tell him of Lord Bullhaven's treachery must now be seen and addressed as Humphrey the Heroic). Furthermore and indeed, the only (and while minor still somewhat annoying) reason why I am rating The Great Ghost Rescue with a high three stars and not yet with four stars is that personally and from a textual and narrational point of departure, I do find the entire scenario that Insleyfarne is meant to be a trap and Lord Bullhaven not only a villain but a total and utter cardboard-like flat arch-evil entity par excellence a bit facile, a bit too one-sidedly out of the blue and unexpected. For while Lord Bullhvaven's treachery and his nefarious ploy to have all of the ghosts of Great Britain exorcised out of existence does I guess set the necessary stage in The Great Ghost Rescue for a final showdown and battle, and of course also for Humphrey to show his personal mettle and heroism, I definitely would much prefer it if the Insleyfarne trap and Lord Bullhaven's villainy and treachery were not so totally unexpected, in other words, that there should definitely be a few more obvious indications of potential evil and villainy provided by Eva Ibbotson right when we first set eyes on and meet up with Lord Bullhaven in the Prime Minster's office.