The Grave Robber's Apprentice

by Allan Stratton

Overview

Hans doesn't know who he is or where he came from. When he was a baby, he washed ashore in a wooden box and was adopted by the conniving grave robber, Knobbe the Bent. Now fate has thrown him together with Angela von Schwanenberg, a young countess fleeing for her life from the evil Archduke Arnulf and his dreaded Necromancer. Together, these friends are on a daring quest to discover Hans' true identity and to save Angela's parents from the archduke.

Join Hans and Angela on their grand adventure as they ride through the depths of the great forest, sled down a mountain in a coffin, and sneak along the secret passageways of the archduke's palace. The Grave Robber's Apprentice is a world of highwaymen, hermits, and dancing bears; and of a boy separated from his family by the sea.

In this world anything is possible with luck and imagination—even for a grave robber's apprentice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061976087
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/06/2012
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	837,710
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.97(d)
Lexile:	650L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Allan Stratton is the internationally acclaimed author of the Michael L. Printz Honor Book Chanda's Secrets. His novel Chanda's Wars was a Junior Library Guild selection, and his other novels, Borderline and Leslie's Journal, were both ALA Best Book for Young Adults selections. Allan has safaried in Africa, hiked the Great Wall of China, explored pyramids in Egypt, and flown over Cappadocia in a balloon. He lives with his partner in Toronto with four cats and a whole lot of fish.

What People are Saying About This

Kenneth Oppel

“A rollicking and enchanting fairy tale for the 21st century.”

Editorial Reviews

Stratton (Borderline) invokes Shakes-pearean themes and influences to offer a fast-paced, entertaining historical fantasy. Found adrift in a wooden chest as a baby, Hans was adopted by the notorious grave robber Knobbe the Bent; at 13, he is chafing at the gruesome business of stealing from the dead. Angela is a teenage countess with a passion for puppetry and plays, who is unwillingly promised to the evil archduke Arnulf. Her plan to escape his clutches causes her to join forces with Hans, as they flee from the archduke and the wicked Necromancer. What they find are a band of reclusive monks with a secret, a family of traveling performers and their trained bears, and a group of unusually talented outlaws. As identities are revealed and prophecies fulfilled, it all comes down to some clever stage work to confront the archduke once and for all. While the target audience is likely to anticipate some of the twists, this clever tale hits all the right notes. It has the feel of a classic adventure story without rehashing overly familiar elements. Ages 10–up. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

This clever tale hits all the right notes.” — Publishers Weekly

“A playfully dramatic adventure with swashbuckling kids, mountain hermits, avalanche sledding and circus bears. Stratton’s prose is artistic, clever and funny.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Fans of Philip Pullman’s Clockwork and Ken Oppel will delight in Stratton’s wit and zest, and his jokes, twists, ghosts, wolves, prophecies and gothic tropes.” — The Times (London)

“Readers who like their fairy tales packed with action and happy endings will want to add this to their collection.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“The Graverobber’s Apprentice is a tale told with sound and furious action—chock full of villainous villains, heroic heroes (and heroines), and moments of absolute hilarity. Stratton is a master at his craft and he’s given this story a heart of gold.” — Arthur Slade, author of The Hunchback Assignments

“A rollicking and enchanting fairy tale for the 21st century.” — Kenneth Oppel, author of the Airborne trilogy and Silverwing series

“A fun read.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

The Graverobber’s Apprentice is a tale told with sound and furious action—chock full of villainous villains, heroic heroes (and heroines), and moments of absolute hilarity. Stratton is a master at his craft and he’s given this story a heart of gold.

Arthur Slade

Fans of Philip Pullman’s Clockwork and Ken Oppel will delight in Stratton’s wit and zest, and his jokes, twists, ghosts, wolves, prophecies and gothic tropes.

The Times (London)

Readers who like their fairy tales packed with action and happy endings will want to add this to their collection.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A rollicking and enchanting fairy tale for the 21st century.

Kenneth Oppel

Readers who like their fairy tales packed with action and happy endings will want to add this to their collection.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Readers who like their fairy tales packed with action and happy endings will want to add this to their collection.

The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

Readers who like their fairy tales packed with action and happy endings will want to add this to their collection.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Stratton shows impressive versatility in a shift away from his intense teen fare--Chanda's Secrets (2004), Borderline (2010)--to a playfully dramatic adventure with swashbuckling kids, mountain hermits, avalanche sledding and circus bears. Infant Hans washes ashore in a wooden chest and is adopted by "a stumpy man of lumps and bumps"--a grave robber. Knobbe raises Hans to follow in his footsteps, though Hans can't see the honor in it as much as the immorality and ickiness. Nearby, countess Angela (almost 13, like Hans) lives in a castle, developing high-level skill at dramatic play and marionettes. Skirting a forced marriage to corrupt Archduke Arnulf, Angela procures a potion from the sinister local Necromancer to make herself seem dead; she'll be buried until Arnulf departs, then her parents will unbury her. But the Necromancer informs Arnulf, who kidnaps the parents, leaving Angela stuck in the coffin--until Hans unknowingly breaks in. Together they dodge peril and discover colorful comrades from forest to dungeon across the archduchy. Stratton's prose is artistic, clever and funny as it shows that even the oldest tropes can feel fresh and cheeky and that wisdom fits fine next to grossouts like poop buckets. The only blot is the Necromancer's blindness as a symbol of creepy evil. It's fun all the way as wit, daring and theatrical skills restore the archduchy. (Fantasy. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews