Other Books by Melissa Glenn Haber » The Heroic Adventure of Hercules Amsterdam
Hercules’ name is like a joke—far from being a heroic strongman, he’s eleven years old and only three inches tall. Everything about the world terrifies him: rats and cats, acorns and baseballs, but most of all, the way human beings treat each other. After his mother decides it’s time for him to start school, Hercules runs into the walls to go live with mice. Everything in the mouse world seems perfect until Hercules discovers that a few mice are hiding the truth from the rest. When Hercules realizes the perfect mouse utopia is regularly but randomly wiped out by rats, he realizes he must rise to the occasion to save his new friends.
Official Reviews:
A BookSense 76 Pick
“Inventive fantasy… a clever, satisfying saga.” —Publisher’s Weekly. (starred review)
“[A] witty, well-told beneath-the-floorboards adventure.” —Kirkus Reviews.
“Haber creates a wonderful fantasy world inside the walls and her book may rank up with the great rodent classics… You have to love a fantasy that offers an afterword explaining number systems through the centuries and the advantage of base 10.” —Buffalo News.
“Hercules’ adventures are full of fun. A charming, very promising first YA novel.” —Locus.
“Readers enter the world of mice through this captivating tale.&hellips;it is a pleasure to read an innovative story that creates a world beyond expectations. The imagery in this book is wonderful, painting elaborate pictures in the reader’s mind. This book will delight fanciers of fantasy and mice. Recommended.” —Sharon R. Strock, Library Media Connection
“Creating a new and original world is one of the most difficult things a writer can do. It’s even harder to make it feel real. Melissa Glenn Haber has achieved this with Hercules Amsterdam. From the minute tiny Hercules leaves his human world and enters the realm of the mice, we are given rich detail and a real feel for an alien civilization. Congratulations to Ms. Haber on a daring and original first book.” —Nancy Farmer, author of The House of the Scorpion, winner of the National Book Award.
“I deeply enjoyed this delicious debut novel from Melissa Glenn Haber. Hercules Amsterdam is not only charming and full of adventure, it is also, perhaps more importantly, admirably strange. What a wealth of imagination and invention have gone into this story.” —Bruce Coville, author of My Teacher is an Alien.
Kid Reviews:
“It’s like lava flowing down the side of a volcano—you never know where it’s going to go. One of the best fantasy novel’s I’ve ever read.” —Jaron, age 10, Maine.
“I read all the time and haven’t been too impressed with anything much lately. However your Hercules Amsterdam is just wonderful! I enjoyed this book cover to cover. I hope there will be a sequel. Characters like Hercules, Juna, and Kitty Joas really need another adventure. Please!” —Ken, Maryland.
“I love your book Hercules Amsterdam. When I first found it at Barnes and Noble I didn’t know whether to buy it or not, but when I read the first few pages I was hooked. The characters were astounding. You describe the world within the walls with so much luster I could almost smell the rotten stench of the rats, taste the honeydew milk, and feel the warmth of the cheese sun. As for the plot it was amazing. When Hercules stumbled on the ghost city the details you gave me made the ghost city rise in front of my eyes.” —Nathan, Ohio.
“You have to exercize your brain.” —Kjell, age 10, Maine.
“I thot tete Hecoles was a good book.” —Jeremy, age 6, Massachusetts.
“The reason this is a such a good book, Mama, is it’s full of adventure but also funny.” —Mehitabel, age 5, Massachusetts.