What’s there in the dreary, ramshackle evil gazebo that instills fear (even a tiny hint of it) in the hearts of the two sisters, Lithia and Lucretia? Find out when you read the delightfully entertaining book, The Evil Gazebo, by Bernie Mojzes. It’s a fairly short, but very fun read, with illustrations by Linda Saboe that really help make the story come alive for its readers.
The illustrations, and the story, reminded me of the cartoonist Charles Addams’ twisted but humorous illustrations and unusual but way cool sense of humor. Who’s he? If you don’t know, he is the cartoonist who created The Addams Family. The Addams Family is one of my favorite cartoons, black-and-white TV series, and movie series of all time! There is also a touch of Roald Dahl thrown in for good measure. He was, of course, the author of books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and The Witches.
Lucretia and Lithia are two very mischievous and witchy girls who live in a mansion that reminded me of the one the Addams Family live in. It seems to rain all of the time there, especially upon the evil gazebo. The gazebo must be evil, if two sisters like Lucretia and Lithia are uneasy about going there!
The sisters live with their aunts. No mention is made of their actual parents. It’s an all-female family. Their aunts are definitely strange, and add to the twisted sense of humor that pervades the book. Their names are Aunt Eternia, Aunt Imperia, and Aunt Kindle, who is the cook and is very good at kindling fires. I especially liked Aunt Kindle, as her name reminds me of the device for reading e-books, called the Kindle. She also reminded me of the Addams Family character, Grand Mama, because she cooks things like creatures with tentacles that don’t like to be eaten.
The girls’ encounter with a very odd creature, Matthew, that they find in the Evil Gazebo makes them very curious, at first. They just can’t decide what the creature is, having never seen a boy before. Then, they become very possessive of him, and want to own him. But, what will happen when the boy’s parents come looking for him? Will he be allowed to leave the mansion alive?
If you enjoy reading slightly twisted but humorous stories somewhat like Roald Dahl’s, with illustrations kind of like those of Charles Addams, you’re sure to love reading The Evil Gazebo, by Bernie Mojzes and illustrated by Linda Saboe. Buy it in paperback, in a limited-edition hardcover version, or download it on your Nook, iPad, or–um–Kindle. Or, whatever other way you want, really–it’s a fun book I urge you to check out today!
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