The Ikabog
by J.K. Rowling
Recommend (children)
Note: This book is a children’s fantasy novel oriented towards elementary to middle school audiences. The star rating is calculated for children audiences not for adult readers.
Lord Spittleworth wants nothing more than to be rich and important. When King Fred sees the imaginary Ikabog in the marshes, Lord Spittleworth sees his opportunity to get what he wants. Suddenly the threat of the Ikabog is real and coming for the people of Cornucopia. Lies build upon lies as he strives to keep the country as well as the king under his thumb and constantly fearing the mystical creature. How long will he be able to keep it up? Will his lies overwhelm him and those helping him? Or is the Ikabog actually real?
The Ikabog is by J.K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. This novel is an independent story told as a fairy tale. According to the forward, Rowling originally posted this story online for kids to read for free while they were kept at home through quarantine. She also held a drawing contest for kids to submit artwork based on events in the book. The winners of the contest have their drawings interspersed throughout the story which I really liked. Some of the children could draw quite well.
The fantasy elements in this novel are light overall, so if you are looking for a story with a lot of magic, magical creatures, epic battles, or other fantasy elements, this book will not be what you’re looking for. However, if you are looking for a simple introduction to the fantasy genre for a young reader, I think this will be a good book to start with.
The actual writing of the novel is very simple and flows really well. It is also fun how the narrator talks to the audience several times throughout the novel. As an older reader, it is obvious that it was written for younger audiences, and has a young reader feel or atmosphere about it. However, it has a fairly sophisticated plot as Lord Spittleworth continues down his path in claiming the Ikabog is real. It makes you question how things will turn out, and has a few unexpected events that happen. If you are planning to read it as an older reader, I think you will find it a fun quick read, but it probably won’t amaze you. If you are familiar with the Harry Potter series, I would say that Harry Potter is written more like an adult novel than The Ikabog is.
The only minor problem I had with this novel is the way that Rowling sectioned the chapters. This book is less than three hundred pages, but has sixty-four chapters. It seemed like most chapters were two to three pages not including the illustrations. Each chapter title clearly stated what was going to happen in the next couple pages, so there weren’t many surprises once you read the chapter title. I would have preferred to have some longer chapters with more of the events combined under one more general chapter title. I wonder if this had to do with how it was posted online before publication, or it could have been a decision on Rowling’s part.
Overall, I think this story was very fun and would be great for the audience it was written for. If you are a parent that likes to read to your young children, this would be a great one to read to them. It was also nice to see something new from Rowling that doesn’t relate to the Harry Potter world.
Pros:
- Great for children or young readers
- Fun story
- Fun pictures
Cons:
- Too short of chapters
- Limited fantasy elements
Recommended for readers who like:
- Interactive third person narrators
- Simple writing
- Some pictures
- Fairy tales
- Short Reads
- Political intrigue based plot lines
Book Details:
- Published: November 20, 2020
- Series: N/A
- Pages: 282
- Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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