Book review

Measle and the Wrathmonk by Ian Ogilvy (2004)

Do youknow what a wrathmonk is?

'Wrathmonk,' said Prudence. 'They're all powerful. Thank goodness, there aren't that many of them. Basil's one of the meanest and nastiest I've ever seen.'

Pity then, for Measle, that Basil Tramplebone is his legal guardian.

Poor Measle has a terrible time. He's always hungry, and pretty dirty and smelly. He lives in a dark and dingy house in a derelict street, and there's always a black raincloud drizzling overhead. Of course, Measle doesn't know that Basil is a wrathmonk - at least, not at first he doesn't.

The one thing that Measle does know about Basil is that he has a beautiful model railway setlaid outin the attic. Sometimes Basil allows Measle to sit on a high stool and watch Basil play with it. There's nothing Measle would like more than to have a go with the train set himself - which is why he devises a plan one day for getting Basil out of the way for a while. Unfortunately, it's a useless plan:

'WHAT ISSS GOING ON?'
The voice came from behind him and Measle whipped round on the tall stool, almost falling off it in his fright. There, in the doorway, stood Basil Tramplebone. His fish eyes were staring and his long, bony fingers were clenched into fists and, for a moment, Measle thought he saw a trace of red on Basil's chalky cheeks.
'WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?'

Now, what do you suppose a really cross wrathmonk might do to you, if he was really, really annoyed with you?

You'll have to read the book to find out. I can tell you though, that Measle finds himself taking a really close look at Basil's train set...

Scary stuff. You'll love it.

What can I read next?

I'll assume you've read Harry Potter.

There's a huge choice out there if you're looking for books with a touch of magic. For younger readers, you might like this unusual book by Peter Carey:

Or you might enjoy this series of books by Debi Gliori:

Slightly older readers who enjoy a slice of magic might enjoy this rather ghoulish one by Neil Gaiman:

Or this interesting encounter between weedy boy and bad-tempered djinni, by Jonathan Stroud:

Also, the Bookchooser has found these books with a similar profile:

Measle and the Wrathmonk features in these lists: