The One Great Gnome

by Jeff Dinardo, Jhon Ortiz (Illustrator)

Overview

In the spirit of Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, this story introduces readers to the hidden magical—and mysterious—world of gnomes, elves, and trolls.

Eleven-year-old Sarah moves with her family from New York City to rural Hadley, Connecticut. She's eager to explore her new home and meet new friends, but she never expected to befriend an old garden gnome.

Readers join Sarah as she is drawn into a secret world under our feet. Sarah uses her instincts to calm old rivalries and help the underworld elves, gnomes, and more join her in the upperworld.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781947159549
Publisher:	Red Chair Press
Publication date:	02/01/2022
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Lexile:	610L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 9 Years

About the Author

Always looking to make kids smile, Jeff Dinardo fills his books with humor and silliness. When not writing, Jeff runs a successful design firm specializing in books for use in classrooms.

Jhon Ortiz is a 3D character animator and illustrator from Valencia, Spain. He describes himself as a dreamer who always looks for new stories and adventures.

Editorial Reviews

"The One Great Gnome is an endlessly fun middle grade adventure."—Foreword Reviews

From the Publisher

2020-06-03
An 11-year-old girl falls into a parallel world of fantastical creatures in this illustrated novel for readers.

Kindhearted, book-loving Sarah is resolved to make the best of her family’s move from New York City to her parents’ dream home in rural Connecticut. While exploring the shed in the backyard, she discovers Vesper, a gnome that she inadvertently revives from a frozen statue state, and is compelled to follow him back to his homeland, which is plagued by a struggle between his fellow gnomes and their presumed enemies, the trolls. Plot-driven chapters that emphasize characters over worldbuilding will draw a variety of readers into this adventure, and straightforward, humorous third-person narration keeps the twisting, turning story moving. Though character development is minimal, the situations that are presented allow Sarah’s empathy and understanding to take on a pivotal importance in a way that feels fairly natural, if a bit unsubtle in its messaging. Black-and-white vignettes are interspersed throughout, providing fuzzy, soft-edged imagery for the creatures. The humanoid beings in the story seem to assume a white default, and there are no textual details about Sarah’s race or culture, though her surname is Arroyo, suggesting that her family may be of Hispanic descent.

A brief fantasy tale that may appeal to readers who aren’t usually fans of the genre. (Fantasy. 8-11)

Kirkus Reviews