The Magnificent Monsters of Cedar Street

by Lauren Oliver (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

From the bestselling author of E. B. White Read-Aloud Honor Book Liesl & Po comes a timely and relevant adventure story about monsters of all kinds--and a girl brave enough to save them.

Cordelia Clay loves the work she and her father do together: saving and healing the remarkable creatures around Boston at the end of the nineteenth century. Their home on Cedar Street is full to the brim with dragons, squelches, and diggles, and Cordelia loves every one of them.

But their work must be kept secret--others aren't welcoming to outsiders and immigrants, so what would the people of Boston do to the creatures they call "monsters"? One morning, Cordelia awakens to discover that her father has disappeared--along with nearly all the monsters.

With only a handful of clues and a cryptic note to guide her, Cordelia must set off to find out what happened to her father, with the help of her new friend Gregory, Iggy the farting filch, a baby dragon, and a small zuppy (zombie puppy, that is).

Select format:
Paperback
$7.99

Kirkus

Starred Review
Cordelia Clay helps her father, Cornelius, rescue injured and endangered monsters, restoring them to health in the ramshackle family mansion; when her father and the monsters disappear, she sets out to find them.... Enchanting

None

Oliver's wordplay is often clever ("the daylight...was starting to seep across the cluttered countertops like the drool of a Mattahorn salivus"), and her collection of monsters is creative and thorough. Cordelia and Gregory face instances of peril that are exciting without feeling too dangerous, and the book's secondary characters, both human and monster, add much to the story.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

In this thoughtful adventure set in the late 19th century, a girl who helps her veterinarian father to treat wounded monsters must locate her dad after he is apparently abducted--along with the myriad creatures living in their rambling Boston home. With little more than a threatening note to go on, Cordelia Clay, 12, and her newfound friend Gregory must track down the villain responsible in a world that doesn't know about the existence of dragons, zombie puppies, and their ilk, and treats social outcasts with cruelty. As Cordelia and Gregory's quest takes them to a traveling circus in New York, a Canadian university, and back home, they find a terrifying threat to monsters everywhere while exploring the idea that "the monsters people name are not the real danger... it's the monsters who name themselves that you really have to watch out for." Oliver's (Broken Things) marvelous historical fantasy hits just the right tone of sincerity and whimsy; alongside weighty themes "of violence, of hatred, of cages and isolation," an excerpt from A Guide to Monsters and Their Habits describes many of the beasties in enough detail to ground the premise and bring the monsters to life, and occasional illustrations by Aldridge (Estranged) give a realistically fantastic feel to the meaningful text. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

Gr 4-6--Cordelia Clay lives in a world where monsters are real, and it is her father's job (and hers by proxy) to track down injured monsters to nurse them back to health. Her mother was the author of the definitive guide to natural monster history, but died in her attempt to prove her controversial theory that the two branches of monster evolution stemmed from the same root. When her father disappears it is down to Cordelia and, reluctantly on her part, Gregory, the homeless orphan whose zuppy (zombie puppy) she cured, to rescue him. Filled with a treasure trove of fascinating creatures, this Dickensian world is a treat to explore. It is also incredibly relatable, highlighting the paradox of great wealth among immense poverty and addressing themes of fear-mongering and the need for social change. The book begins with a comprehensive guide to the world's creatures that readers will turn to again and again. VERDICT Oliver's characters leap off the page and readers of all ages will find themselves eagerly rooting them on and clamoring for more as their story ends. Hand this to fans of adventure, magical creatures, and epic quests.--India Winslow, Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, MA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780062345080
Lexile Measure
830
Guided Reading Level
R
Publisher
HarperCollins
Publication date
October 26, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
JUV016140 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | United States - 19th Century
JUV002270 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dragons, Unicorns & Mythical
JUV052000 - Juvenile Fiction | Monsters
Library of Congress categories
History
Fathers and daughters
Mystery and detective stories
Detective and mystery stories
Fantasy
Detective and mystery fiction
Boston (Mass.)
Missing persons
Fantasy fiction
Monsters
1865-
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Booklist

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!