Dory Fantasmagory (Dory Fantasmagory #1)

by Abby Hanlon (Author)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Move over, Junie B. Jones and Ivy & Bean! Here comes a lovably energetic little sister with a BIG personality--and an imagination to match!

As the youngest in her family, Dory really wants attention, and more than anything she wants her brother and sister to play with her. But she's too much of a baby for them, so she's left to her own devices--including her wild imagination and untiring energy. Her siblings may roll their eyes at her childish games, but Dory has lots of things to do: outsmarting the monsters all over the house, moving into the closet, and exacting revenge on her sister's favorite doll. And when they really need her, daring Dory will prove her bravery, and finally get exactly what she has been looking for.

With plenty of pictures bursting with charm and character, this hilarious book about an irresistible rascal is the new must-read for the chapter book set.

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Kirkus

Starred Review

Childlike drawings, often embellished with hand-lettered narrative or speech bubbles, of round-headed humans, Sendak-ian monsters and a snaggle-toothed witch add to the humor. Charming, funny and true to life. 

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Dory's nickname, "Rascal," is an immediate tip-off to the six-year-old's personality, but there's more to Dory than just being a spitfire. To combat her older siblings' refusal to play with her because she's a "baby," Dory conjures up Mary, a monster friend who appreciates her incessant questions, like "Why do we have armpits?" and "What is the opposite of sandwich?" Dory's pestering leads Luke and Violet to tell her that 507-year-old Mrs. Gobble Gracker, "who robs baby girls," is looking for her. This sets Dory's imagination spinning, leading to the appearance of the vampiric Mrs. Gobble Gracker and the gnomelike Mr. Nuggy, who introduces himself as her fairy godmother. Reality and fantasy combine hilariously in a story that, at heart, is about a girl who wants little more than to spend time with her brother and sister. Hanlon's (Ralph Tells a Story) loosely scrawled illustrations, speech balloons, and hand-lettering are an enormous part of the story's humor, channeling Dory's energy and emotions as emphatically as the narration. Time spent with Dory is time well spent. Ages 6-8. Agent: Ann Tobias, A Literary Agency for Children's Books. (Oct.)

Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

Gr 1-3--Six-year-old Dory, known as Rascal to her family, wants more than anything to be included in her older siblings's fun, but her endless questions and make-believe monsters drive them crazy. When Violet and Luke tell Dory a bedtime story about the evil Mrs. Gobble Grackle, who steals baby girls, they unintentionally feed her already overactive imagination. Dory and her imaginary friend, Mary (who resembles Maurice Sendak's Max), are always on the lookout for monsters, and they thwart Mrs. Gobble Grackle's attempts to kidnap her with banana peels and sleep-inducing darts. When Dory pretends to be the dog her brother has always wanted, she convinces Mrs. G that she isn't the baby to kidnap and sabotages a trip to the doctor's office. Hanlon effectively uses many childlike pencil drawings and word balloons interspersed with a good mix of short and long sentences in brief, episodic chapters full of Dory's hilarious adventures. New vocabulary words are used in context within familiar settings and situations for the audience, creating a successful transitional book for new readers ready for longer stories. Dory ultimately finds a way to prove her bravery to her brother and sister, and readers will laugh at her entertaining antics.--Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Praise for Dory Fantasmagory

A Golden Kite Honor Book for Fiction
ALA/ALSC/YALSA 2015 Notable Children's Book
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2014
A Kirkus Best Book of 2014
One of Parent's Magazine's "10 Best Children's Books" of 2014

An ALSC 2015 Summer Reading List pick

Abby Hanlon
Abby Hanlon is a former teacher. Inspired by her students' storytelling, Abby began to write her own stories for children, and taught herself to draw. She is the author of Ralph Tells a Story. Abby lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and their two children.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780803740884
Lexile Measure
650
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Dial Books
Publication date
October 09, 2014
Series
Dory Fantasmagory
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV013070 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Siblings
JUV045000 - Juvenile Fiction | Readers | Chapter Books
Library of Congress categories
Brothers and sisters
Imaginary playmates
Imagination
Families
Family life
Imagination in children
Imaginary companions
Cybils
Finalist 2014 - 2014

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