Mabel Jones and the Forbidden City

November 15, 2015
Crepuscular carnivores! Hypnotized egrets! Amputated bottoms! The pajama-clad child pirate Mabel Jones is back for her latest adventure. Though just a child, Mabel has dealt with magic before (The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones, 2015). She's nevertheless surprised when vines make off with her baby sister, Maggie. Following their trail, Mabel plunges through time into a future Earth where humans have disappeared and animals reign supreme. To recover her sister, Mabel must pair once again with fellow "hooman snuglet" Jarvis and veteran goat pirate Pelf. The journey to the titular Forbidden City (read: NYC) where Maggie is held means pairing too with the adventurers Speke, a jolly otter with all the acumen of a Bertie Wooster, and Carruthers, a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps badger. Naturally, the waterways are thick with peril. Naturally, they must face a baddie of towering nastiness. And naturally, it will take a great deal of sacrifice on Mabel's part to reach a happy ending. As with the first novel, the narrator who haunts this book's pages isn't just intrusive. It's likely to sit on your lap and make snide comments about the nits in your hair. The result is wordplay that dances and teases, making every page an act of high entertainment. With this sequel, the humor is higher and the gross-out jokes less frequent than in the opener, and the adventure is pleasingly heart-pounding. If this is the future, count child fans in. (Adventure. 8-11)

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February 1, 2016

Gr 3-6-In the middle of the night, Mabel Jones's baby sister is kidnapped by a nefarious creature using long spindly roots. When Mabel discovers her sister is missing, she goes on a quest to The Forbidden City to rescue her. Along the way, Mabel battles monsters and picks up a few creature friends. Fans of Mabbitt's witty, butt-kicking strong female character will enjoy spending time with her again. The narration harkens to that of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and fans of that series will enjoy the snarky voice. Previous knowledge of the last book is not given and is not necessary to enjoy this story, only enhancing it. A cliffhanger ending will leave readers clamoring for the next book in this action packed series.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Mabel (The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones) searches the Noo World for her baby sister, who's been abducted by an evil jungle sorceress. Teaming up with two explorers and some old friends, she journeys to the Forbidden City. Wordiness and backstory slow the action in places, but fans won't be disappointed with this second wild romp, illustrated with plentiful line drawings.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)