Magic Smells Awful

by Matthew K. Manning, Joey Ellis (Illustrator)

Overview

Xander Stone didn't believe in unicorns — until one puked on him! In this adventure, twelve-year-old Xander first meets the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns — stinky, zombielike, upchucking creatures from the magical world of Pegasia. They've been banished to Earth for, well, being stinky, zombielike, upchucking creatures. However, Earth presents them with a great danger: HUMANS. Luckily, the dashing, naively heroic Xander vows to protect them and their disgusting secret at all costs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496557193
Publisher:	Capstone
Publication date:	01/08/2018
Series:	Xander and the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	8 - 10 Years

About the Author

Joey Ellis lives and works in Charlotte, NC with his wife Erin and two sons. Joey writes and draws for books, magazines, comics, games, big companies, small companies, and everything else in between.

The author of the Amazon best-selling hardcover Batman: A Visual History, Matthew K. Manning has contributed to many comic books, including Beware the Batman, Spider-Man Unlimited, Pirates of the Caribbean: Six Sea Shanties, Justice League Adventures, Looney Tunes, and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? When not writing comics themselves, Manning often authors books about comics, as well as a series of young reader books starring Superman, Batman, and the Flash for Capstone. He currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife Dorothy and their two daughters, Lillian and Gwendolyn. Visit him online at www.matthewkmanning.com.

Interviews

Written by comics and children’s book writer Matthew K. Manning (Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures); With grotesquely delightful unicorns and fantastical realms, this series appeals to both boys and girls alike; Bright, bold, full-color illustrations by Euan Cook.

Editorial Reviews

2018-05-23
A magic-obsessed boy meets four (not-so-good smelling) talking, barfing unicorns.Twelve-year-old Xander is walking home from school one day when he sees strange rainbows shooting across the sky. The rainbows "didn't simply fade into view, as rainbows are known to do. No, they burst through the air, as if they were in a hurry to get to the other side of the mountain." Xander runs toward the woods to see what's going on, only to confront moments later "an impossible creature"—and then more. In all, he meets four extremely unusual unicorns: Cradie, Stalor, Blep, and Ronk. One pukes on him! The unicorns have been banished from the magical world of Pegasia for trying to eat the other unicorns. They are not your typical unicorns. In fact, they are stinky, zombielike unicorns. But they don't feel safe on Earth because "humans can't be trusted," so Xander vows to protect them. He must devise a plan to hide or disguise these talking, barfing unicorns from humans. What can go wrong? Manning's premise is so bizarre it works, and Ellis' use of bright, bold colors to highlight the black-and-white spot illustrations amps that premise further, making the journey of these unicorns on Earth a truly hilarious one. Both Xander and his crush, Kelly, have brown skin and straight, brown hair. Backmatter includes a spotlight on unicorn Ronk and some jokes.A unicorn story with a twist and funny characters who are in for an adventure. (Fantasy. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews