*****= An all-time favorite
**** = Outstanding
*** = Above average
** = Enjoyable
*
= Good, with reservations
***The City of Ink Drinkers
by Eric Sanvoisin
Illustrations by Martin Matje
Translated from French by Georges Moroz
Reviewed November 21, 2002.
Delacorte Press, New York, 2002. 40 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (JF SAN).
This book is based on a fun idea, although it’s so short, it doesn’t
go far with the idea.
Apparently, there have been two earlier books about the Ink Drinkers,
Ink Drinker, and A Straw For Two. Ink drinkers
are similar to vampires, only they feed on the ink of books. Using
a straw, they suck up the words of a book, experiencing the scenes of the
book as they do. Friends Odilon and Carmilla learn from Carmilla’s
Uncle Draculink that their cemetery is going to be moved. They must
find a new home within a mile of Draculink’s cemetery of origin. They
need to find a place where they can keep their supply of books to drink.
The scenario makes a fun problem, but the problem is easily solved
and the book ends quickly. Still, it would be great for a beginning
chapter book reader, as it’s more than a picture book with chapter headings
added.
Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund