Snark
Winner of the 2017 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults Margaret Mahy Book of the Year.
Gabriel Clutch was a thief and a liar but he was right about one thing. He told me he had a great secret in his collection that would shake the literary world to its roots if it ever got out …
So begins the delightfully dark Snark, a tumultuous romp through worlds created by Lewis Carroll and here brought to life through the vivid imaginings and fabulous art of award-winning author and illustrator David Elliot.
What exactly did happen to the Snark expedition? Did his dagger-proof coat protect the Beaver from the Butcher? What befell the Boots in the Tulgey Wood? Who fell foul of the Jabberwock? The Bandersnatch? The Jub-Jub Bird? And, finally, the big question: what precisely is a SNARK …?
David Elliot’s hero, the Boots, here reveals the whole truth for the first time, from his recruitment to the Snark expedition, to his return from a journey of unimaginable, death-defying adventure …
In this charming book for grown-up children of all ages, David Elliot is at his spellbinding and artistic best.
Reviews and Interviews
“Rich imagery, with compelling storytelling. It draws readers into the tale of Lewis Carroll's poetry like never before ..."
Judges of the 2017 Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award in the prestigious New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.“ … beautifully designed and splendidly illustrated … The result is an irresistible invitation to imagination that will delight readers of all ages.”
Reviewed by Michael Cart for Booklist, Publication of the American Library Association, STARRED REVIEW, 15 March 2017“Filled with steam-punk figures, toves, borrogroves and tsunamis, the free-wheeling, sometimes frenzied illustrations, in soft-pencil scribble-line overlaid with wet colour-washes, are energetically animated … ” – Times Literary Supplement, 2 June 2017
“Elliot's uncommon book captures the Snark quite frabjously.” – NZ Listener, 9 December 2016
“The illustrations are incredible, and the presentation is just wonderful … a book for the whole family to enjoy.” – Sarah Forster, Best books of 2016: the 20 best books for kids, The Spinoff, 15 December 2016
About the author
David Elliot
David Elliot is an author and illustrator of children's books, based in Port Chalmers, Dunedin. He has won many awards for his work, including New Zealand Post Children's Book of the Year in 2011 (with Margaret Mahy) for The Moon &...
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