The very first sentence of this book worked its magic to reel me in because I was so very curious to know why Ebenezer Tweezer was a terrible man with a wonderful life. Tweezer spent the majority of his life catering to The Beast in exchange for his selfish desire to be eternally youthful. He never cared to consider the consequences of his actions until Bethany comes into his life. Bethany was a cheeky little troublemaker and you knew it from the moment we meet her. She's continuously playing pranks and making mischief but we learn that her outward behaviour is a defense against the vulnerability she feels being an orphan. Tweezer and Bethany start off as very morally grey characters and I loved to see that in a MG book! But while they start off as morally ambiguous, their characters experience such great growth as the story goes on. I have even talked the head into a little revamp of the library so that we can display them properly! Now notorious prankster Bethany, along with her new feathery friend Claudette, is determined that she and Ebenezer are going to DE-BEAST their lives and Do Good. But Bethany finds that being a notorious prankster makes it hard to get taken on for voluntary work. And Ebenezer is secretly missing the beast's vomity gifts. And neither of them are all that sure what 'good people' do anyway … It happened with me for the very book that I am going to be reviewing here: (though not given to the use of adjectives much, I break the rules and.....) the hilarious, the fabulous, the must-read, the heart warming, the amazing.....DRUM ROLL.... THE BEAST AND THE BETHANY. Beauty comes at a price. And no one knows that better than Ebenezer Tweezer, who has stayed beautiful for 511 years. How, you may wonder? Ebenezer simply has to feed the beast in the attic of his mansion. In return for meals of performing monkeys, statues of Winston Churchill, and the occasional cactus, Ebenezer gets potions that keep him young and beautiful, as well as other presents.

It happens very rarely, if ever, that you just hear one praise after the other from the members of your book reviewing community. Major film deal announced with Warner Brothers and Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts producer, David Heyman. Bring in the royal festivities with our brilliant Mr. Men Little Miss activity sheets. With colouring, crafts and matching games, they’re the perfect way to celebrate the coronation with little ones. Join the Mr. Men and Little Miss as they welcome the arrival of the new king in… Read MoreWhat becomes of the beast in the attic? Does Bethany become the beast’s most desired meal or is there a different turn to the story? Is the beast even corrigible? When the book starts, it's easy to write off Ebenezer as merely The Beast's errand-boy. Sure, a 511-year-old errand boy, but an errand boy nonetheless. Then once you understand what he's doing and why...well, you lose pretty much all sympathy for him. Sure, some sort of alien, magical creature that only wants to eat is one thing, you can get that impulse. But Ebenezer has sold his metaphorical soul to him, in his Faustian bargain for a long life, Ebenezer has helped facilitate a swath of destruction through this world. And that just seems worse than The Beast's actions. I think many children will find some pretty grossed-out humour in this book. Bethany is pretty obnoxious. Then… There’s The Beast to contend with. Ebenezer has gone to great lengths to get the beast what it wants, including the Titanic. Now a child, who unfortunately may not be to its taste after-all and what can be done to remedy it. Readers will have to find out why not in the book… Ja lapsi sille myös hankitaan. Ebenezer käy noutamassa paikallisesta orpokodista pienen ja pahatapaisen tytön nimeltä Helmikki, mutta hirviö tahtookin nauttia uuden herkkupalansa pyöreämmäksi lihotettuna. Niinpä Ebenezer saa vastentahtoisesti majoittaa Helmikin kartanoonsa, mutta alkuvaikeuksien jälkeen hän vähän alkaa sääli�� tyttöä ja itse asiassa kaksikon välille alkaa syntyä ihan aito ystävyys. Ikävä kyllä joka aamu hän myös herää vaivaisempana ja ryppyisempänä...

I read this book for a blog tour, so thank you so much to the blog tour organiser, the author, the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. All thoughts are my own. First, we have Ebenezer, a spry 511 years old who is very self-absorbed and completely at the mercy of the Beast in his attic. He is very comfortable with his life and how he is living it. He likes being beautiful and young. And, he's willing to do pretty much anything to maintain the life he has created.Use your imagination to create your own dinosaur, test your brain at a prehistoric wordsearch and write a dino-adventure! About the book Dip in each day to discover a new dinosaur and enjoy sharing with friends or family. Immerse yourself in this unforgettable year-long encounter with the… Read More Ilmaista lounasta ei kuitenkaan ole olemassa, sillä vastapalvelukseksi Ebenezerin on kiikutettava sille syötävää. Vuosien varrella se on ehtinyt pistää poskeensa helminauhoja, mehiläispesiä, antiikkihuonekaluja, keskikokoisen Winston Churchillin patsaan, harvinaisen papukaijan, viimeisen dodon ja jopa Ebenezerin rakkaan lemmikkikissan. Nyt hirviöllä on kuitenkin mielessään aivan jotain muuta. Se tahtoo syödä lapsen. I love the characters, especially Bethany, whose snarky wit accomplishes something that Ebenezer has been unable to do in over 500 years. As a parent, I just wanted to hug her and give her the love that a cruel twist of fate stole from her at a tender young age. Kids will laugh at her antics and delight in her bad choices as well as her smart ones. It's actually not as easy as he initially thought, but he eventually brings one home and sets to fattening it up a little bit for The Beast. In those few days, Ebenezer starts to think that maybe there are things more important than living to 512. The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.

I read this book under two hours because once I started I just could not put it down. I will try not to spoil this book because as with lots of Children's books, the plot isn't wide and the story is really focused on the outcome. Ebenezer is 511 years old but he looks nothing like his age because of a potion that he gets from a monster he keeps in his attic. He has basically been living a solitary life of enjoyment, he has all the money he can ever spend and if he does spend it all, the monster can just vomit some more for him. But it appears that the monster is now greedy for something and he would not be giving Ebenezer the potion that keeps him young unless he gets him what he wants. He wants a tasty plump child. The HORROR! Thanks so much for your lovely message and for everything that you do with Book Wagon. Yourself and Bob are much cherished in our booky world and I personally really appreciate everything that you do.The thing is, The Beast has peculiar tastes—monkeys, cacti, Ebenezer's beloved cat, endangered species, and so on. Now, it has a specific task for Ebenezer. The Beast wants to eat a human child. A nice plump one with rosy cheeks. Initially horrified, Ebenezer decides that he's really more interested in prolonging his own life enough that he can probably find a child easily enough. I read it with both my kids-the12 year-old and the 5 year-old and we had some hilarious times. Let me start by giving you the blurb from Goodreads.