NELL OF GUMBLING: MY EXTREMELY NORMAL FAIRY-TALE LIFE
Seventh grade is no fairy tale. From the bestselling author of Okay Witch comes an utterly enchanting graphic novel-diary hybrid about a twelve-year-old girl living an ordinary life in a magical land…disappointment, friend drama, adventure, mystery, and all!
You might think that life in the town of Gumbling is like something out of a storybook, but to me it’s just home! I mean, sure, my dads run a magic star farm, my best friend Myra is a fairy, and my second-best friend Gil is as small as my thumb, but I’m just like any other kid. EXCEPT that one day I’m going to be a world-famous artist!!! That’s why I just had to land my dream apprenticeship with THE Wiz Bravo.
Too bad that instead I’m apprenticed to boring old Mrs. Birdneck in the town archives. How am I ever supposed to become a real artist if I’m stuck in the moldy dungeon of the Castle Memorial Community Center? Having the world’s worst apprenticeship is bad enough, but now there are some weird strangers hanging around town who are talking about turning Gumbling into a fancy resort. And everyone is completely freaking out about it. Now it seems like all Myra cares about is saving the town—WITHOUT ME. All I want is for this school year to have a happily ever after, but that might not be so easy…
"For older kids and younger teens who enjoy stories about magical adventures, friendship, and the challenges of growing up." —School Library Journal, starred review
"A feel-good tale of friendship, community, and unexpected joy." —Kirkus Reviews
"Explosive emotion that leaps off the page....Gently humorous prose teems with goofy asides and astute musings, while thinly lined, softly colored art initiates the first installment of this freewheeling series." —Publishers Weekly
NELL OF GUMBLING: MY EXTREMELY TINY FOREST ADVENTURE
Nell of Gumbling and her diary are back! From the bestselling author of The Okay Witch comes another adventure from a twelve-year-old girl living an ordinary life in a magical land. Will an epically enchanted camping trip gone wrong…turn out fantastically right?
Welcome back to Gumbling—Nell Starkeeper’s extremely normal fairy-tale hometown. And things couldn’t be more happily-ever-awesome, because Nell is about to go on a Gumbling rite of passage—the Multi-Disciplinary Wilderness Engagement Adventure—when all of the seventh graders spend a whole week in the forest! Sure, it’s an Enchanted Forest that’s full of gumblecreatures, where your most secret wish could be granted at any moment, but that’s nothing unusual around here.
What’s REALLY magical is that Nell gets to be on a team with ALL her best friends, learning about nature stuff and teamwork and having their very own campout (including roasting marshmallows)! Great friends + forest fun = best summer ever…
Except her Thumbkin friend Gil has been a bit of a grump lately. And everyone’s secret crushes are making things super awkward…So when the whole gang gets shrunk down to Thumbkin size after a wish gone wrong, Nell’s problems get a whole lot bigger. Can Nell and her friends find a way to work together and celebrate each other’s strengths AND vulnerabilities…or will this camp-out be a GIANT disaster?
“Steinkellner offers readers an alluring mix of Nell’s prose journal entries alternating with full-color comic panels; together they form a visually delightful page-turner. Though the story is rooted in a fantasy world, readers (especially those who appreciate the gentle angst of Raina Telgemeier’s and Judd Winick’s graphic novels) will find this volume utterly relatable; they’ll appreciate the young friends’ stumbles as they navigate their ways through life’s twists and turns.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“It’s a funny and magical adventure, filled with small epiphanies as Nell learns how to be a better listener and friend. The artwork is cute, cartoony, and contains plenty of visual humor. The exotic location is also the perfect setting for all kinds of amazing and colorful creatures, which adds even more appeal to this story.” -School Library Journal
