Wed Wabbit

by Lissa Evans

You're called Fidge and you're nearly eleven. You've been hurled into a strange world. You have three companions: two are unbelievably weird and the third is your awful cousin Graham.

You have to solve a series of nearly impossible clues.

You need to deal with a cruel dictator and three thousand Wimbley Woos (yes, you read that sentence correctly). And the whole situation - the whole, entire thing - is your fault.

Wed Wabbit is an adventure story about friendship, danger and the terror of never being able to get back home again.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Adventure, Childrens, Fiction, Family, Humor

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2017

About the author

After a brief career in medicine, and an even briefer one in stand-up, Lissa Evans became a comedy producer, first in radio and then in television. Her first novel, Spencer's List, was published in 2002, and since then she has written three more books for adults (two of them longlisted for the Orange/Baileys Prize) and two for children (the first of them shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal). Her two most recent books for adults were set in London during the Second World War; one of them, 'Their Finest Hour and a Half' has now been made into a film entitled 'Their Finest', starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy

Reviews

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joyously anarchic, wildly inventive and will make you laugh like a demented loon, forget that this is a children's book and just dive in and read it. Imagine if Alice had met the Teletubbies, in a Monty Python show reimagining Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...got that? This is a bit like that, but weirder, funnier and with more heart.

I love, love, love this.

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 4 out of 5]

NOTE: I'm really close to a milestone on my Instagram (3,000 followers!) and would love to reach it: www.instagram.com/alicetiedthebookish...

This is a MG novel that I honestly struggled to put down. It was so bizarre, yet so adventurous with an unique story-line. Wed Wabbit follows young Fidge, who after having a severely bad week ends up in a world alongside a couple of talking toys and her cousin Graham. To escape and return back to Earth's present day, they must rescue Fidge's younger sister Minnie's toy (named after the story title) who has gone rogue and choes amok with 3,000 Wimbley Woos, all different colours running around and only speaking in rhymes. The pacing was quick, I did struggle with character connection at times but not too often. I loved the world-building! If you are looking for a story with a strange concept, this is it!

[Sarah Churchill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun middlegrade with a young theme but more advanced language/writing style, it's hard to place the target market for this. Having said that it would make a great story for bedtime reading, parent and child time together. It has all the classic traits of a well loved children's story ; traumatic event leaves "enemy" kids in an unknown land trying to get home. There are lessons learned, friends made and lots of growth all-round. It's fun and whimsy, but still felt somehow lost and out of place. I'm not even sure that makes sense if you haven't read it. I enjoyed it, but I felt like it could have been more.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really glad I finally got round to reading this book. Its fun and hilariously funny. I really do recommend it .

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect!

Wed Wabbit is perfect in so many ways. It is about a young girl Fidge (short for Iphigenia) whose sister Minnie (short for Minerva) is injured in an accident. Her mum needs to be with Minnie in the hospital, so Fidge has to stay at her aunt and uncle’s house. The problem is that she can’t stand her ‘difficult’ younger cousin, Graham.

Minnie, although not physically present for the majority of the time, dominates the story. She insists that Fidge repeatedly must read to her from her favourite book The Land of Wimbley Woos. The Wimbley Woos are all a different colour (signifying their traits) and they speak in rhyme (all the time). Fidge hates the book (obviously!) Minnie also has a favourite toy, a rabbit, which she must have with her constantly.

Fidge’s troubles begin during a thunder storm when she falls into the land of the Wimbley Woos. All seems perfect at first, until Graham also arrives (along with his transitional object – Dr Carrot). It appears that a cruel dictator has overthrown Wimbley Land. Fidge and Graham need to join forces to help save the Wimbley Woos from an uncertain fate…

I particularly loved the way the book actually reads – it is perfect for reading out loud. The toy characters are vividly real and help the action along. Dr Carrot and Ella the Elephant almost act as parents to Fidge and Graham, providing calm and thoughtful advice. My favourite (of course) is Wed Wabbit, who shouts and cannot pronounce his r’s, which makes for many moments of hilarity:

WESTLE THEM TO THE DUNGEONS AND TOMOWWOW THEY WILL FACE THE TEWWIBLE WEALITY OF THE PUNISHMENTS WOOM!!!

This book is a must for adults and children, and whilst incredibly funny, also carries a deep message about how differences must be embraced and celebrated. In places, it did move me to tears.

I highly recommend that you read this book, I am certain it will be a modern classic.

5 stars

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since Fidge's father had died, she had not really been the same. She helped out around the house more than she used to but something that settling in her which needed tackling. Her little sister, Minnie, was becoming annoying and there was just something about her relationship with her mum that was distancing. Worse, Fidge constantly had to read the same book about the painfully annyoing Wimbleys to her sister every night and make do with her sister's favourite toy watching her all the time: Wed Wabbit.
So when two fateful accident happens which ultimately throw Fidge into an alternate world crafted by her younger sister's imaginings, she must confront her inner demons and find her route back to who she used to be.
Funny and wise, Wed Wabbit exceeded my expectations. There is an essence of Henson's Labyrinth in here but with a different cast - one who externalises this struggle that Fidge is going through in order to try to understand her place in a family with no dad. So very well done.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that's crazy. In a great way. Kinda like the movie 'Labyrinth' but less artistic and more funny. I know some kids will love it but the more literal-minded might not. Parents will likely appreciate the messages. I esp. love the message that love & hugs are great healers, even of bullies.

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was such an ordinary evening, but every detail of it would matter; every detail would become vital.

Lissa Evans had my heart with Old Baggage, a novel for adults about a suffragist’s attempt to impart meaning to her life after the battle for the vote has been won, which came out in 2018. Seeing that Wed Wabbit was released just a year before that only increases my sense of admiration. How talented do you have to be to produce not only a heartwarming, unsentimental, brilliantly angry and complex adult novel, but also a heartwarming, unsentimental, brilliantly angry and cacklingly hilarious children’s novel, within the space of two years? Pretty bloody talented.

Our heroine is ten and a half-year-old Fidge (her mother named her Iphigenia, and her little sister Minerva; her father acquiesced on the condition that he be allowed to give the children unfussy nicknames, so they are Fidge and Minnie). She and Minnie live with their mum. Their dad, a firefighter, died (of cancer or a similar terminal illness) a little over a year ago, a fact with which Fidge is struggling: she hasn’t let anyone hug her since then. Minnie, age four, is going through something of an obsessive stage: her favourite animal is a stuffed red velvet lapine to whom she lispingly refers as “Wed Wabbit”, and her favourite book, which Fidge is obliged to read over and over again, is a nauseatingly cheery and reductive story entitled The Land of Wimbley Woos:

The first picture showed a group of happy-looking Wimblies. Each was a different colour, but they were all shaped like dustbins with large round eyes and short arms and legs, and they radiated a sort of idiotic jollity. Fidge turned the page and continued reading in a bored, rapid mutter.

“Yellow are timid, Blue are strong, Grey are wise and rarely wrong. Green are daring, Pink give cuddles, Orange are silly and get in muddles. Purple Wimblies understand The past and future of our land.”

“Wead it pwoply, with expwession,” commanded Minnie.

Fidge is a tough cookie, but she is looking forward, with heartbreaking intensity, to an impending outdoor-activities holiday. On a last-minute shopping trip into town the day before, her mum’s slowness combined with Minnie’s need for the latest Wimbley Woos book causes them to be too late to buy the flippers that Fidge so desperately wants. Mutinous with resentment, she kicks Minnie’s beloved Wed Wabbit—intending only to take out her frustration—directly into traffic. Minnie runs out after him, and…well, no, it’s a children’s book. But she is hospitalized, and Fidge—now wracked with guilt—sent to stay overnight with her Uncle Simon, Auntie Ruth, and cousin Graham. Graham is hopeless, apparently terrified of everything and overprotected by his parents but convinced of his own superior intellect, “large and pale, like a plant that has been heavily watered but kept in the dark”. While Fidge is there, there’s a thunderstorm, and something extremely odd happens. In Evans’s own, deliberately hand-wavey explanation,

Fact: when Fidge had thrown all Minnie’s toys down the stairs at Graham’s house, the thing that had happened next—the huge soundless static explosion—must have somehow churned them together, and who knew what might—

Yes: Fidge, and Graham, and all of Minnie’s toys (including a pink and purple elephant named Ella and a bright pink diamanté mobile phone that makes a very annoying sound when it rings), and Graham’s “transitional object” (a plastic promotional carrot from a supermarket, which his rather dippy parents are hoping will serve as a locus for all of his fears and help him cope with change), are in The Land of the Wimbley Woos. And not just in a generic sense, either: they are, specifically, in Minnie’s copy, and therefore in Minnie’s version of Wimbley Land. (The Purple Wimblies, upon all of which she has drawn moustaches in felt-tip in her copy of the book, are moustachioed here.) Much more problematic, though, is the fact that Wed Wabbit is also in the book—and here, in what is clearly some corner of Minnie’s fearful and confused psyche, he is extremely powerful. In fact, he has overthrown the Wimbley King (who doesn’t mind, mostly because his greatest ambition is to be left alone), and established himself as a vast (literally; everything is bigger in Wimbley Land, so Wed Wabbit is about twenty feet tall) and terrifying dictator.

Well, terrifying to the Wimbley Woos, anyway. When Graham and Fidge first meet this tyrannical incarnation of Wed Wabbit, the inherent ridiculousness of the situation brings them together for the first time:

“WIMBLEY LAND HAS BEEN WUN IN A WEGWETTABLE WAY, BUT NOW THE TIME OF WECKONING HAS COME,WEQUIWING A BWEAK FWOM THE PAST AND A CWACK DOWN ON TWEATS AND WELAXATION. IT WILL TAKE AN EXTWEMELY STWONG STWUGGLE TO WIGHT THESE WONGS AND I—”

Graham let out a huge snort, and Fidge found she couldn’t hold back any longer and they were suddenly both yelping with helpless, uncontrollable laughter—Graham doubled up, Fidge with tears actually running down her cheeks.

(Wed Wabbit speaks in 62-point all-caps.)

In order to depose Wed Wabbit, Fidge and Graham—plus Ella, the carrot (who demands to be referred to as “Dr. Carrot”, despite Graham pointing out that the “DR” printed on her base stands for “Douglas Retail”, the name of the shop where the vegetable promotion was occurring), a plucky Pink Wimbly and a somewhat long-winded Grey Wimbly—must bring all the Wimblies together to take out the Blues, who serve as castle guards.

Honestly, I’m nearly 1000 words into the review and we’ve just about sorted the meat of the plot. Wed Wabbit pretty much defies description in that regard, but in the best possible way. It is an intensely weird premise and there is no point in pretending it is not—but then, Evans knows, and is entirely uninterested in, its level of weirdness. The mechanism by which Fidge, Graham and the toys get into Minnie’s book—much less get out again—is never explained and hardly dwelt upon. Wed Wabbit isn’t about believable world-building; it’s about using the structure of a quest narrative (free Wimbley Land from tyranny!) to intelligently parallel an arc of internal emotional development. Both Fidge and Graham need to let go of something that is holding them captive: Fidge, her refusal to give or receive hugs (which here are metonyms for affection and the vulnerability that comes with being demonstrative), and Graham, his terror of everything and his belief in the superiority of intellect above pragmatism or kindness. Both of them, in other words, have their own Wed Wabbits lurking in their hearts.

For the most part this is fairly subtly done (at least, I imagine a ten-year-old wouldn’t necessarily twig). There is one moment, I think, where Evans slightly overplays it:

“But why?” asked Graham. “What does he get out of it? OK, so he’s the boss and the whole country’s terrified of him, and everyone rushes about obeying his orders, but he’s stuck in the castle, he never gets out, he never does anything or talks to anyone or has any fun or…” He suddenly became aware that Dr. Carrot was looking at him in a significant way. “What?” he asked defensively. “You’re not trying to say that’s like me, are you?”

Why, yes, yes indeed.

Fidge’s turn, when it comes, is better managed: having done what they believe necessary to defeat Wed Wabbit, she realizes one final thing is in order, and—reluctantly—hugs him. Instantly, he shrinks, colour returns to Wimbley Land (amongst other things, he has been draining everything to white), and good governance is restored. (Not, mind you, by the re-installation of the Wimbley King. The Oldest and Wisest of the Grey Wimblies, who has by now learned the art of brevity, is elected ruler in his stead.)

Fidge and Graham’s personal quests, though a hook to hang the rest of the book from, are not really the funny bits. Those are mostly to do with the Wimblies, who can only communicate in the singsong rhyme scheme of their book, and whose self-conceptions are entirely based around the assumption that each color Wimbly is only good at one thing. (This is, in fact, key to the strategy that ends up overthrowing Wed Wabbit, but I won’t spoil everything for you.) The rhyming provides almost infinite opportunities for wit, and Evans takes full advantage of them. The Wimbley King’s apathy, for instance, is delightfully articulated by the fact that he frequently can’t be bothered to think of end rhymes:

“Sorry, I didn’t hear your question./This muesli’s rather good./Bim bestion.”

When Wimbley Land is freed, it’s not just from Wed Wabbit, but from the shackles of trochaic tetrameter. A Pink Wimbly thanks Fidge in the structure of a limerick:

“But it’s us who can’t thank you enough/We know that your journey’s been rough/For such a brave fight/Your talents were right/You’re clever and stubborn and tough.”

“It wasn’t just me,” said Fidge.

A Purple with green blotches clapped Graham on the back.
“One straw is so weak,” it bellowed. “But take and weave a handful—/Such strength together!”

“That didn’t rhyme,” said Fidge.

“Blank verse,” said Ella.

(I think, actually, it’s a haiku.)

The strength of Wed Wabbit, therefore, isn’t necessarily in its plot: even though describing it takes ages and sounds quite mad, it’s in the service of a not-so-unusual story, about how to find strength at moments when you feel weak, about how to make friends and move through fear. Where it shines is in its complete dedication to being batshit, its ability to convince us that yes, of course, a four-year-old’s idea of a terrible dungeon would indeed include squashy bananas and warm milk with a skin on it, because those are the things she hates. That’s what makes it, not just a good children’s book, but a good book, like Pixar doesn’t just make good movies for kids but good movies in general. In fact, I’d quite like to see Pixar adapt this.

[Eleanor · Rating 1 out of 5]

2018 CARNEGIE LONGLIST BOOK 10/20

Let's face it, I never thought I would love this book. However, I did not expect to be so intensely irritated by a book that I wanted to throw it against a wall and start pounding my head on the ground. Literally the moment I finished this I took big gulps of relieved breaths because I was so glad to get out. That irritation has literally masked my whole opinion of this book and I could literally not rate it higher, even if I wanted to.

Looking past the horrible cover (they need to change that, it isn't very appealing), this book is about a girl called Fidge who has an annoying younger sister who reads this book called the Land of the Wimbley Woos. She also has lots of toys, inclduing a purple elephant and a "wed wabbit". When the younger sister is involved in a car accident, Fidge has to go and stay with her horrible cousin, Graham, and ends up getting stuck in a world which is a weird combination of her sister's favourite book, her cuddley toys, with Wed Wabbit as an evil dictator. In this world, there are colourful dustbin shaped creatures called wimbleys and - and I just can't do it anymore. As you have probably noticed, this book is complete and utter nonsense. I hated it. The world was babyish and so silly. But Eleanor, you say, this is a children's book. It's supposed to be like that. Ah no, no, no, no, no, no, here is my problem. It was written well enough for older kids BUT I feel like older kids would have lost patience with this just like me, and younger children would not be able to read it. I feel like this is one of those books which is aimed at critics who will then praise it for children. I think some authors need to think about what audience they are aiming at, and when writing children's books, we need to think about what children will really enjoy.

I cannot rate this any higher, for reasons that you have read already, but there were SOME things that I would have liked about it had it not been set in the most annoying world ever. I liked some of the things Ella said, they were funny but positive, and I kind of liked how Graham became nicer. But it was just against such a nonsense and annoying background that all the good things just sort of...paled. Which is sad, because there were some elements buried in here that I think people would enjoy.

So, despite the good reviews, this was a no from me. I just don't like to read about creatures that can't pronounce their w and I cannot deal with talking dustbins. This didn't really have an audience who would fully appreciate it either - the writing style was too complex for really young children who would like the genre, I think. And I just don't know why anyone would want to read about something this intensely annoying.

[Fred · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wed Wabbit by Lisa Evans has been shortlisted alongside seven other books for the 2018 Carnegie Medal. (I have already written reviews of Rook and Beyond the Bright Sea, two other nominees.)
The Carnegie is a literary prize based in the UK which focuses on recently published fiction for children and teenagers. Even though this is not an age range I read at, I read and review this shortlist every year with others and then put my reviews up on Goodreads.

I must say, throughout my group, Wed Wabbit was the one which everyone seemed to dread, due to a few people having reviewed it and slated it, to the point where it is almost being treated as either the book to get over and done with or as the book to just avoid. Amusingly, it has quite an infamous reputation throughout the group as being a bit dire.
Having now read this book myself (within a day) in as much of an unbiased way as possible, I am pleased to say that I am not COMPLETELY secured in that camp of devoted haters. I gave the book 2.5 out of 5 stars for what it is worth: I have recently found that my ratings on Goodreads don’t really mean anything given that it is such an arbitrary system. But regardless of that, I think the amount of negative hype surrounding this book is a little bit of a disservice towards it and it certainly does have some merit to it.

Certainly, prior to reading it, there were lots of things about this book that did not appeal to me and were still not appealing to me during the reading experience. However, something that I did VERY much like about this book was that it had lots of little acknowledgements to The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland, two books I like a lot! It definitely is quite a UNIQUE adaptation of those two books but they are definitely there. For me, this was a blend between those two books simply with the target age reduced enormously!

This book follows a girl named Fidge and her younger sister Minnie: Minnie is very attached to all her toy rabbits, the favourite of which is called ‘Wed Wabbit’, and she constantly asks Fidge to read aloud all her pop-up picture books based on these toys: the books focus on the Wimbley Woos who live in Wimbley Land under the rule of Wed Wabbit. The family are due to go on holiday and the morning before their departure, Minnie gets run over by a car and is swiftly sent to hospital. Fidge descends into a severe depression...but then when she goes down into the cellar of her aunt’s house in order to get Minnie’s toys from that place, she loses consciousness...and then wakes up in “Wimbley Land”, the home to the Wimbly Woos, ruled by the fearsome ‘Wed Wabbit’. (Very similar in this way to The Wizard of Oz: travelling to a faraway land which resembles elements of the real world.)

If you are planning to read this book, one has to prepare to overlook the quite bizarre plot - I even felt a bit ridiculous explaining it then, let alone reading it - and look instead at the wider subtext and themes.

Something that I really appreciated about this was the following: Fidge feels very guilty about what has happened to her sister because she kicked Minnie’s toy, Wed Wabbit, into the road and that is why Minnie ran out in front of a car. Therefore, in Fidge’s extreme decline and self-anguish, she suddenly ends up in her sister’s world: because she thinks that she has potentially killed her sister, her mind completely immerses her in a world her sister used to love. By doing so, she can potentially find or help her sister again.
(One of the people in my reviewing group said that the hidden subtext was this: instead of genuinely travelling to another world, Fidge is in fact having a nervous breakdown due to feeling guilty and heavily missing her sister. This book is very much open to different interpretations as to whether or not Wimbley Woo land is real or not, a connection with Alice in Wonderland.)

Therefore, part of this story is about acceptance: after Fidge is initially very sceptical towards Minnie’s toys and stories, she eventually learns to accept them and happily go along with them for the sake of her sister. Due to how her not doing this led to Minnie’s accident, followed by how crucial Minnie’s information was to her when she was in Wimbley Land, this moral lesson is very present by the end of the book.
Another recurring theme is moving on and growing up (again, both The Wizard of Oz and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland have similar themes). Fidge grows up by moving away from her scepticism and moody nature towards Minnie’s stories; Minnie however also grows up a lot in this story! Towards the end of the book, Fidge asks Minnie “oh where’s Wed Wabbit” and she replies saying that he was staying behind today in the bedroom to ‘tidy up’. Fidge just smiles and thinks ‘that happens, things change’, which shows both how she has matured AND how children mature naturally and we only need to accept that.

So I really appreciated all of the above: references to other literature, lots of subtext, and the openness to different interpretation.
However, I would not recommend this book to EVERYBODY. Counter-intuitively, I wouldn’t actually recommend this book to somebody of my reading tastes! I would not pick this book up in a bookshop and I don’t regret having that attitude, despite the positive stuff I have said about it.
The reason for all of this is because the target audience is very young: it is a book written for, I would say, people between the ages of 9-13. I completely understand why it is on the Carnegie Shortlist and, unlike many other people I know, I would not be sad at all if this won! However, in comparison with other Carnegie nominees, it is for a very young age group: Rook, for example, I would recommend to people of 13+ years; The Hate U Give is a really intense read and the polar opposite of Wed Wabbit. In comparison, therefore, with other books on the same shortlist, it is surprisingly for a much younger audience.

However, I would not dismiss this book! If you know a young person who would enjoy this book, I would recommend it. It is really interesting in terms of the messages behind it and it is quite a fun book for a young person to read. (There is also quite a lot of problem-solving in it, just in case you are into that!). A book I would not slate in the slightest.
Overall, for young people, it gets a thumbs up!

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

The silliest and funniest book of the year for me. A ridiculous romp! I think it would be the most wonderful book to read aloud to a group of kids.

An evil wabbit, ruling a kingdom of crazy coloured toys. A brave girl and a timid boy. It is utterly gorgeous and lovely and funny and silly.

[Monica Edinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is MY kind of whimsy. That is, this is a story pushing back on traditional whimsy in a witty and wry way that is still ultimately a journey story for a couple of kids. (The sort of whimsy that made Dorothy Parker " fwowed up" in her famous review of Pooh.) I'm eager to read it aloud as I sense it would go really well. Will update this review once I do.

[KWinks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot believe how great this book was. I was expecting...I don't know, a humorous missing toy story and I'm still kind of in awe over where this book went, how it handled it, and how much I had no idea of what was coming next.
It's so freaking cool. It's like Judy Blume (of Superfudge days) wrote a version of Wizard of Oz, as seen through the eyes of a 4 year old. I found myself actually snort laughing aloud while I read this. It has a quest, insane characters, a sense of urgency....and can I just mention that the characters did my favorite thing in a story while facing a series of challenges with only a cryptic prophesy to guide them- they WENT TO THE LIBRARY! Yassssssss!
Yay to Fidge and poor, neurotic Graham!
I am going to try to sell this book to every kid who walks in the library.
Wed Wabbit foweva!

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fidge is in a strange world. Wimbley Woos—-blue ones, orange ones, yellow ones, green ones, purple ones, gray ones, pink ones—-surround her. She must solve a mysterious riddle with help from three companions to depose the wicked ruler, Wed Wabbit.

It’s been so long since I enjoyed a kids book so much. Read it to/with your favorite kid today.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haha, delightful. Read it. Forget that it's kid lit and jump in for a funny and heartwarming ride.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

When her four-year-old sister Minnie is hospitalized after an injury, ten-yer-old Fidge finds herself an odd world populated by different-colored trash cans and 3,000 Wimbley Woos. It becomes clear that this is no ordinary place but one inspired by your sister's favorite book series and her imagination. Because you mistreated her stuffed pet, Wed Wabbit, bad things are happening, and it is up to you and your obnoxious and sickly cousin Graham to fix things. Naturally, Fidge is desperate to get back home and out of this crazy world reminiscent of something Lewis Carroll would envision with her sister's favorite toy. But first she must use several clues found in a rhyme to do so. With life skills advice from Ella the Elephant and wise counsel from Dr. Carrot, Graham's transitional object, and some help from a Pink and a Gray, Fidge eventually sorts everything out, but just barely since all the colors in this crazy place are fading away. Although there are many parts of the book that made me anxious and that would scare young readers, especially the parts about being unable to get back home, there are also plenty of sections that are funny, including the interaction between Graham and Dr. Carrot, and Ella's sensitivity to remarks that seem related to her weight. The fact that the Grays, especially the Oldest and Wisest Gray, spend more time talking and discussing issues than acting on them won't go without remarking, perhaps bringing to mind some politicians and administrators. Most readers won't expect the book to take the various turns it does, which makes is a pleasant surprise among other books in this vein. While this one won't be to everyone's taste, for those who "get" its humor, they will adore it and clamor for more.

[Dantanian · Rating 2 out of 5]

A page turner...I kept turning em so could finish the darn thing. Nowhere near as good as it sounds. It has some ok ideas which mostly seem pinched from a host of things, and comes across as a sort of self help book for kids. Funny in places but only where it channels Monty python. Claimed as anarchic and surreal but doesn't really touch the sides. Many children I'm sure will love it, and that's the point, but there are so many more imaginative and fun books out there. This is overlong and ultimately pat and tiresome.

[Graine Milner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd give this book ten stars if I could - I've read so many great books this year, but I think this has got to be my favourite. Slightly surreal, extremely funny, but also has poignancy and heart. Lissa Evans is a very clever writer - there are so many little details that delight. I love the king who can't be bothered to speak in rhyme, Eleanor Elephant's business cards, the daring (but loud) Greens, the ever-hopeful Pinks... just wonderful!

[Mina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting the worst, I got it. but it wasn't AS bad as other people said it was, the characters were rubbish, the plot was rubbish, and the whole thing in general was rubbish. however people bare with rubbish, and so did I. just about bare with it.
I HAVE NO IDEA why it is on the shortlist, it is for younger readers, however it was still a really bad plot, a really bad character. but hey, who doesn't like a carrot on wheels.

[Alex English · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishingly good. It's a kind of Alice in Wonderland meets the Teletubbies. Heartwarming and funny; brilliantly written middle-grade perfection.

[Kirjapallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning was so depressing! Fidge was arguing with her little sister Minnie, the father is dead, Minnie gets run over by a car and ends up in a hospital... (And by the way, it's Fidge's fault. At least kind of.)

And Fidge goes to live with her cousin who is extremely distressed and seeing danger everywhere.

Fidge and Graham get separated when they end up in the Land of Wimbley Woos, which is basically at war, and everything is so weird and dark and hopeless...

Um, I thought this book was supposed to be a funny one...???

The melancholy is there until page 75, when we meet Elsa, purple and big toy elephant in her pink skirt, who likes to give advice about breathing, voice and confidence. She was like a soothing mother figure and I really loved her. She was also very funny! I found myself smiling at her many times. :)

I also liked the dry humour of Dr Carrot from page 44, but she didn't affect the overall feeling of the book that much on her own.

I really liked the message, though: it's important to collaborate and everyone is needed and diversity is great! :)

I would recommend this for 10 year olds and up, but does it look appealing for that age group? Nope. ;)

Also the voice in the book was geared more towards older children, I think... Fidge is almost 11 but feels more like at least 14, and the text was too specific, for example: "And then it nodded at her captor, and Fidge was given a shove between the shoulder blades that sent her stumbling into the twilight." (94)

(I believed this book would be a good read-aloud for 5+, so that's why I'm a bit... confused.)

[Amy (Golden Books Girl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a gloriously imaginative tale, Lissa Evans transports Fidge to the world of her sister`s favourite books, after Fidge`s frustration with sister Minnie`s toy Wed Wabbit ends in disaster. In the world of Wimbley Woo, Wed Wabbit is now a dictator, and to find her way back home, Fidge must work with irritating cousin Graham, a toy elephant and a tiny carrot toy who thinks it`s a doctor, as well as negotiate Wimbley Woos and avoid the wrath of Wed Wabbit. The world is entirely unique, really does feel like the sort of thing a young child like Minnie would be obsessed with, and the tasks they must undertake themselves were exciting to follow along with. I thought Fidge was a brilliant heroine, and I was surprised that by the end Graham had really grown on me too, and the character development was subtle but very apparent. The toys were a sheer delight, particularly Dr. Carrot, and their journey was so fun to be part of. The humour in this, particularly at the beginning, also hugely appealed to me, and I found myself chuckling more than once. If you`re looking for a world like nothing you`ve read before, and want to have a surreal experience with a great group of characters, Wed Wabbit is the book for you. 4.5/5

[Daisebeeyourself · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this in class and it is the only book that didn't bore me out when we read it in class.
It was just TOO funny to resist laughter crawling up your throat. The way that Minne says things is hilarious, it's obviously in the name of the book that a 3year-old said that. Graham...*shakes head and grins* A very paranoid, awful cousin-of Fidge- he wont even eat toast, he doesn't like cold water, he hates rain and even cars! But through the story and exciting adventure he changed dramatically. Speaking of Fidge, the daring, reasonable girl, the main character.
And last Minne. The cute 3year-old (now 5) who invented the name of the book and included the humor to rise. Graham, Fidge and some other friends changed a book, a world: WIMBLYLAND!!! The Land Of WimblyWoos that was once controlled by Wed Wabbit
I think we should give Lissa Evans a round of applause *claps with everyone else and bows for reading the book*
I totally recommend this for ages 9+. Very commercial and enjoyable for all ages. My 28year-old teacher kept smiling while reading it (well she does all the time, it's sometimes creepy...)

[Alicja Górska · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://krytyk.com.pl/literatura/rece...

"Książka Lissy Evans dotyka pewnych trudnych tematów, jak radzenie sobie ze śmiercią i strachem, lecz robi to bardzo subtelnie. Pisarka prezentuje różne oblicza obaw oraz poprzez działania fantastycznych, lecz wyraźnie bardziej dojrzałych niż protagoniści, postaci podsuwa sposoby radzenia sobie z nimi. „Dorośli” bohaterowie Evans, jak Doktor Marchewka albo personalna trenerka Słonica Sonia, nie zmuszają Funi czy jej kuzyna Grahama (zmagającego się z licznymi fobiami) do natychmiastowego pokonywania swoich granic, lecz najpierw racjonalizują ich obawy, zachęcając bohaterów do samodzielnego podjęcia decyzji o zrobieniu pierwszego, odważnego kroku w walce ze strachem. Zresztą już sam pomysł, by wcielić „dorosłych” przewodników w zabawki wydaje się świetny – skraca bowiem dystans nie tylko między młodymi bohaterami i ich opiekunami na czas przygód, ale również między czytelnikami i tymiż opiekunami. Odbiorcy tekstu w Doktor Marchewce czy Słonicy Sonii nie widzą zdystansowanych wiekiem dorosłych, lecz mądrych (niemal) rówieśników. Ta bliskość doświadczeń pozwala na gładsze przyjmowanie dojrzałych osądów i wskazówek".

[Karen Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you do when your four year old sister is hospitalised and you find yourself in a grotesque world inhabited by your little sister’s toys? Thankfully, it’s not a situation we’re ever going to be in, but eleven year old Fidge does.
Fidge has to solve the mystery of how to rescue the Wimbly Woos from the tyranny of Wed Wabbit, the enormous bunny who has taken control of all around him without thinking about what his subjects need.
I started reading this because it’s on the long list for the Carnegie Awards this year. Reading it aloud to my seven year old initially, there was a real sense of Alice in Wonderland or The Phantom Tollbooth to the book. We’re quickly placed in this bizarre setting and it was good fun to see how Fidge coped with her annoying cousin and the demands placed on her. Though there’s lots to admire about the book, I can’t help but feel readers at the older end of the target audience will be dismissive of the world created and the whole concept.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a cute and smart book, there's no doubt about it. Despite experiencing a few moments when I was feeling bored or irritated, I quite enjoyed reading it and I think that many kinds are going to love it. At the same time I do not understand how it can be called brilliant or an instant classic. It's fun, sure, but I think what Evans did here has already been done before many, many times. And I'm not even going to say "by Carol Lewis" - although it's obviously heavily inspired by "Alice in Wonderland" - but by many books that followed "Alice". It does stand out in the crowd thanks to Wed Wabbit and those annoying, colourful trash cans (they were adorable, I admit it, especially the yellow ones) but that's it, really.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fidge feels guilty - is it her fault that her little sister, Minnie, ran across the road and got hit by a car? She is forced to stay with her aunt and uncle and their severely risk averse son, Graham but somehow the two of them are transported to the world of her sister's favourite book with coloured characters called Wimbley Woos. In the course of the adventures they have there , Fidge and her cousin become friends and must work together to get back home with Wed Wabbit, now a tyrant but in their own world Minnie's favourite toy.
This story did remind me strongly of The Land of Neverendings but wasn't nearly as tear jerking, in fact it's very funny and would be enjoyed by younger children, it would be a great read aloud.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have noticed a number of excellent reviews of this book and it was shortlisted for the Costa Children's book award 2017. However the pupils in my school library (aged 11-12) often returned it unfinished and struggled to understand what was going on. I think it is a great book but the humour is aimed at adults and is not on a child's level. I sometimes think that reviewers, publishers etc. often forget that the success of a book particularly if it is aimed at children should not be based on our enjoyment but theirs. Am I the only one that thinks this or has had this feedback from students?

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleven year old Fidge, and her cousin Graham find themselves trapped in a strange storybook world as they search for Fidge's younger sister Minnie's stuffed beloved rabbit. As they hunt for clues to find the rabbit they also overcome multiple tasks both physically and mentally. An interesting and at times humorous tale of facing difficult challenges.

[Arjenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny story for teenagers in highschool. Definitely worth reading. It's a funny story with a good lesson in it as well.