- Shopping Bag ( 0 items )
Reviewed by Lee Ashford for Readers Favorite
“Nimpentoad” is a cooperative effort by Henry, Joshua, and Harrison Herz. It is a somewhat interactive storybook for children, set in an alternate world. The main character is Nimpentoad, who happens to be a Nibling, but not just an ordinary Nibling. Nimpentoad is smarter than the average Nibling, and uses his greater intelligence to protect the entire Nibling population from a variety of dangers, leading them to an ultimate state of permanent safety. With Forest Goblins, Neebels, Forest Orcs, Giant Scorpions, Rhinotaurs, Giant Wolves, and Forest Trolls standing between them and safety, how did Nimpentoad manage to save his people? Nimpentoad thought Goofus the Giant would help protect them, but he was putting all his faith in an untested guess. What if he was wrong, and Goofus decided to eat the Niblings, instead of helping them? Even before they got to Goofus, how did Nimpentoad intend to get the Niblings safely past all the other creatures who would love nothing better than a good Nibling sandwich?
This is a cute story. It is interactive, insofar as there are a number of places where the adult reader can pause to involve the child in an “oh no, what will they do now?” manner. Nimpentoad comes up with some clever ways to trick each gang of creatures who present a challenge to their safety at the moment. At these times, the adult reader could ask the child, “how do you think they will get past the (xyz’s) without being eaten?”, thus stimulating the child to think about possible solutions. I recommend this book to anyone – parent, grand-parent, baby-sitter, or God-parent – who might be in a position to read a story to younger children. “Nimpentoad” is pretty ideal for that purpose, and helps the child learn to think about actions and consequences.
MRCROCCO
Posted July 19, 2012
Subtle lessons beautifully taught!
Nimpentoad is a beautifully written and illustrated fantasy adventure book for children. It is a subtle way to teach lessons about friendship, trust, courage, and thinking through situations. Herz also includes manners and trying new vegetables! I bet children actually eat vegetables after reading this story.
Nimpentoad is a Nibling and he lives in Grunwald Forest. There are many other creatures that live in the forest, some are nice and some are not. Niblings are very small and because of this they are picked on a lot every day in the forest.
Finally, Nimpentoad has had enough bullying. He comes up with a plan to travel with all the other Niblings to live with Goofus the Giant. His plan is to help the Giant do all the things he can’t because he is too big. So children also learn being small has advantages, especially after seeing the Nibling’s being bullied for so long because they were small.
It’s a hard journey traveling through the forest and meeting up with all the other creatures who bully them. It took them five days, traveling a mile a day. This is where they all have to trust Nimpentoad and work together through the unexpected problems that come up.
I recommend Nimpentoad for ages five and up. Even adults will appreciate the humor.
It was written by Henry Herz and his two sons, Josh and Harrison, who are in elementary school. I think this is worthy of sharing with the children who read Nimpentoad.
natzers
Posted May 19, 2012
Written by Henry and his two sons, Josh and Harrison, Nimpentoad is the story of a smart young Nibling and how he leads his tribe through the dangerous Grunwald Forest in search of safety. During the trip, he saves his fellow Niblings from being eaten by goblins, trolls, orcs and other scary creatures. Nimpentoad is geared towards children aged 5 - 10 years and reads as if it was meant to be read aloud to young children, accompanied by illustrations by Sean Eddingfield and Bill Maus.
I find the Herz family highly creative and descriptive in their writing style. It’s a great primer to introduce children to the wonders of the fantasy genre, whilst being very educational about the benefits of listening (or you may just attract the Forest Goblins passing by), creative thinking (that Pedal Chariot really saved them a lot of time!), obedience and trust (Nimpentoad’s instructions didn’t always make sense right away - but they worked).
Overall, a very interesting read.
