Worse Things Happen at Sea!

The Ratbridge Chronicles #2

by Alan Snow

Set sail for adventure on the high seas in this rollicking tale of pirates, poison, and monsters from New York Times bestselling author Alan Snow.

The kooky residents of Ratbridge are clamoring for the miracle medicine Black Jollop, but a shortage calls for action. The Nautical Laundry, the famed rat-pirate vessel, must journey afar to gather the medicine’s secret ingredient. But things aren’t what they seem…and soon the ship is under attack. Can young Arthur and his Ratbridge friends triumph and return with the cure for the towns ills?

Illustrated throughout with hundreds of detailed and delightful black-and-white drawings, this imaginative novel will captivate young sea-faring scallywags and brave buccaneers who love a daring, humorous, and extraordinary adventure.

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

528 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Alan Snow is a prolific English author and illustrator, celebrated for his intricate visual storytelling. After studying at Salisbury College of Art, he illustrated over 160 books and contributed to animation and video game design. He is most famous for the Ratbridge Chronicles, particularly the 2005 novel Here Be Monsters!. This richly illustrated work, set in a fantastical Victorian world, inspired the 2014 Academy Award-nominated stop-motion film The Boxtrolls.

Reviews

[Deeanna]

I picked up this book after I got my wisdom teeth out and I found that Our Kind (Marvin Harris) was a bit too dense to tackle while I was that loopy. For that purpose, it was good. Like the first book, this is a children's book. Not a childrens-book-for-adults, a children's book. And while I found it generally entertaining, it didn't capture me as much as the first one. I may be a little biased by time frame and what else I was reading but I am trying to be objective!

I had a hard time with the beginning as it just sort of took off and expected you to remember all the characters from the previous story. The plot is solid and it's a good adventure story, but I feel I would have enjoyed this book more if I was reading it aloud to a small child.

[John]

Everyone is back for the second (and final) set of adventures in Ratbridge.

After "a countess" faints at seeing all the underpants of Ratbridge drying on the line and breaks everything in her body, the Crew of the Nautical Laundry are punished with a terrible fine. Meanwhile, a new doctor has arrived to cure all that ails the ailing of the town. Meanwhile, the Squeakers are keeping the Nautical Laundry crew from leaving the ship. Meanwhile, there are terrible plots afoot - including a cheese fever, a giant robotic monster, and terrible, awful smells.

This is a fantastic set of stories and really should have a wider audience!
Why aren't YOU reading it?

[Catherine]

This is a fun, but far-fetched sequel to Here Be Monsters!. Arthur and his friends set off on the Nautical Laundry to retrieve a medicinal plant with sinister side effects. Yup, it's a long story.

[Kate Bainbridge]

On starting this book a few characters felt familiar… Fish the boxtroll in particular… on further investigation it is absolutely no wonder why Fish was familiar!! Alan Snow is the genius behind the Boxtrolls movie. Although i’ve only seen it maybe twice I thought it was really good!

This book, meeting up with characters I did know before, is really well written. If you had no idea about Boxtrolls then it reads well as a stand alone book.

The characters are excellently written, the story fast paced and fun and the little illustrations and newspaper clippings help aid the story.

I will be in the hunt for Here There Be Monsters, the first book in The Ratbridge Chronicles!!

Fab read thoroughly enjoyed it!!

[Holly Keimig]

This was a cute kids book that caught my eye while browsing at the library. I loved the illustrations throughout! It would definitely be a good one for reluctant readers as it almost feels like a graphic novel in places with all the amazing drawings. I think maybe reading the series in order would have been better (this is Book #2 in a series) because I felt like I was missing background detail in places. In this book, the town goes crazy for a cure called "Black Jollop" but there is a dark side and Arthur must sail the seas to help solve the problem and find a solution that works for everyone and stops the bad guys. There is also a lot of talk about cheese.

[Cassandra]

Loving this series! So quirky, fun, offbeat, and chock full of adventures.

[Amy E Sweeney]

Fun sequel to Here Be Monsters

[Megan]

Cute book for the older kids.

[Tim Robinson]

A good romp and a clever idea, but it lacks the genius of the first book.

[Amanda]

Actually loved this follow up. Only one boxtroll in it, Fish of course, but I really enjoyed all the silliness.

[Cecilia Rodriguez]

Arthur and the other inhabitants of Ratbridge return for another adventure. When the crew of the Nautical Laundry face a hefty fine, they make the choice to return to sea.
Their adventure takes them all to a far away South Pacific island.
Some of the story reminded me of Gilbert and Sullivan's: "Pirates of Penzance," with its exaggerated action and humor.

[Kate]

What a wonderful sequel! Read this to my son as well and I loved it more than he did. I love how there are illustrations on almost every page, keeps him interested. I think it makes me dislike Snatcher even more and love Arthur even more.

[Amy]

Have been looking forward to this sequel and was expectations were met. Continued the adventures of Arthur and his friends. Lovely book.

[Sarah]

http://librarianosnark.blogspot.com/2...

[Mitch]

a weird mix of animal, inanimate and human characters that is distracting at first, and the story is slow to come together. Ends better.

[Eric]

Mya gives it five stars and that's good enough for me.

[Alex]

read aloud with my (nearly 5 yr old) son. he liked it. I did not. at all. vol 1 (Here Be Monsters) was sooo much better!

[Mary Thompson]

Just as amazing as the original! Silly schemes, bumbling villains, heroic rats, and many hijinks ensue!

[Katie Casey]

More adventures with the Boxtroll family

This sequel doesn't disappoint. More crazy characters, plenty of your old favorites, and lots of adventure! A fun young adult read.

[Angel]

Not bad. A bit less than what I expected but still enjoyable.

[E]

A strong sequel but it doesn't match up to the original. Its ending is too abrupt. 3.5, B.