Zorgamazoo

by Robert Paul Weston

Other authorsUwe-Michael Gutzschhahn (Translator), Victor Rivas (Illustrator)

Paperback, 2014

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Genres

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

dtv Verlagsgesellschaft (2014)

Description

Imaginative and adventurous Katrina eludes her maniacal guardian to help Morty, a member of a vanishing breed of zorgles, with his quest to uncover the fate of the fabled zorgles of Zorgmazoo as well as of other creatures that seem to have disappeared from the earth.

User reviews

LibraryThing member FFortuna

It's Dr. Seuss for (much?) older kids! And maybe adults!

No, wait, hear me out, it really is!

Zorgamazoo is a novel in rhyming, Dr. Seuss-like poetry, following the adventures of Katrina Katrell, an adventurous young girl, and Mortimer Yorgle, a decidedly unadventures zorgle who has been chosen to

find the missing zorgles of Zorgamazoo. Heartwarming and hilarious hijinx ensue!

The poetry is really perfect, using infectious rhythm and unique words to suck you in and keep you from looking at anything else. The form allows some things to be simply TOLD (With a bit of a song, it was Morty's belief, / he could cope a bit better with feelings of grief.) so that we can move on to the story, but at the same time we're allowed to stop and really explore something for a few verses before we move on, all without losing track of the rhythm.

The plot and characters have a really fun blend of expected--the girl who believes in her fantasies and runs away from her evil governess--and unexpected, in the zorgle who's FATHER is adventurous and is bucking the tradition by being cowardly. Each character has a particular freshness, uniqueness, and individual motivation and none of that is forgotten as the story goes on. Also, and I won't spoil, I really really love the ending.

This would make an excellent read-aloud and vocabulary builder for younger kids, a great introduction to some of the possibilities in poetry, or just an exciting adventure to read to yourself. (Personally I read some passages aloud to myself just because I liked the words so much.) If you or your kids liked Seuss, Roald Dahl, Lemony Snicket, or The Edge Chronicles, this is the book for you.

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16 more

LibraryThing member abbylibrarian

Katrina Katrell and Morty the zorgle search for the missing zorgles of Zorgamazoo, Katrina because she loves adventure and Morty because he's won the hero's lottery and chosen for the quest.

The entire book is written in rhyming couplets, which is an amazing feat. The rhymes hardly ever feel

stretched and the rhythm is spot-on. I loved the language in this book much more than the story.

I'd hand this one to fans of Lemony Snickett and Shel Silverstein.

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LibraryThing member skstiles612

I really related to this book. I see new students enter middle school every year. I watch them try to figure out what middle school is all about. Many of them get so overwhelmed they just burst into tears. I have never had any like Callie. Call gets to school and realizes that things are very

different from what she is used to. She doesn’t want to mess up again so she decides to write down all of the rules. When Halloween is replaced by the Autumn Fest Callie is upset. What really upsets her is that the councils seems to keep changing the rules so they don’t have to listen to any protests. This is where Callie says enough is enough and decides to come up with her own rules. I really enjoyed this book. I was one of those funny, lite reads that you can sit and giggle with (okay so maybe that is just me and maybe that is why my students kept looking at me laughing). This is another one of those books I borrowed from my local library but will soon be a purchase to be placed on my shelves. This would make a great read aloud at the beginning of the year. I would recommend it to all of my students

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LibraryThing member sirilakcarter

suspense, hilarious, and adventurous journey with a happy ending - the most annoying thing when reading is that rhyming from beginning to the end of the book!
I like this funny chunk when Katrina met Winnie "Supposing this monster came over and said: Pardon me, would you mind if I boiled up your

head?" Well, first you should scream. Then you should run. Because boiling one's head - well, it isn't much fun)"

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LibraryThing member Librarylili

Zorgamazoo (2008) is Canadian children's author Robert Paul Weston's first novel. The novel is a 2009 E.B. White Honor Book and has been shortlisted for the California Young Reader Medal, the Children's Choice Award, and the Silver Birch Award from the Ontario Library Association. It was also named

a top ten debut of 2008 by Booklist Magazine and a notable book of 2009 by the Children's Literature Assembly.

The story is about a fantasy adventure. A girl named Katrina Katrell runs away from her caretaker to keep from being lobotomized because she is too inquisitive. Seeking shelter beneath the street, she meets Mortimer Yorgle, who belongs to a subterranean race of creatures called zorgles and is sent to figure out what has happened to all the Zorgles in Zorgamazoo. And of course their paths soon intertwine...

The characters are unique and complex. Katrina is not only imaginative and inventive, but she is also fearless and very loyal. Morty, on the other hand, is a reluctant hero. When he is appointed as an official “hero,” he doesn’t think he deserves the honour or believes that he has any heroic qualities. However, after the adventure, he proves that he is a courageous and ingenious person — a true hero! The plot isn’t overly complex, but that isn't what the book is supposed to be. It's just light, good fun. The novel written in rhyme and unusual use of font size makes it different from other novels and makes it enjoyable to read aloud.

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LibraryThing member jfoster_sf

The back of the book describes this as a combination of Dr.Seuss and Roald Dahl, and that really captures it entirely! This is a very fun book (especially for reading aloud) about a girl with an active imagination and a thirst for adventure. Unfortunately, she has a guardian who is a stick in the

mud and is always trying to get her to sit still and to not talk so much! one day Katrina sees a beast while riding the subway, and later finds out its a creature called a Zorgle who is on a quest to find all the missing Zorgles from Zorgamazoo! This is a wonderful story told entirely in rhyme (for that reason I think it's best for younger kids or read alouds)

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LibraryThing member oapostrophe

Katrina Katrell lives with her guardians as her parents are always away. She yearns for a family. When Krabone plots to scramble her brain, Katrina runs off and finds her way underground where she meets a Zorgle named Morty. He's been chosen to find the missing Zorgles of Zorgamazoo. Together they

embark on a wild adventure. The entire book is Seussian verse. I found it a bit tiring, but imagine it would be great fun to read aloud. Wonderfully imagined.

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LibraryThing member BrynDahlquis

An amazing and wonderful tale told entirely in verse. Reminds me of Dr. Seuss, but is still entirely original.

LibraryThing member The_Hibernator

Katrina Katrell suffers under the spiteful eye of her guardian Mrs. Krabone. When Krabby decides to get Katrina a lobotomy to get rid of her wild imagination, she runs away. She find Mortimer Yorgle, who is (unwillingly) on a quest to save the Yorgles of Zorgamazoo who have mysteriously vanished.

They team up and have many fun adventures. This book is written entirely in rhyme—reminiscent of Dr. Seuss. It’s the kind of book that really ought to be read aloud. I was lucky enough to get it in audiobook form, which was VERY well read. Some of the rhymes were rather clever, and the book was lighthearted and silly. Very enjoyable!

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LibraryThing member Megs_Scrambled

Where do I begin? This book rhymes in a simplistic, creative way, which is only enhanced by the audio version. Alan Cummings reads the book in his delightful Scottish accent, performing the various voices and accentuating specific words to help with meaning. It's not wonder this book won a read

aloud award and the audiobook an Audie Award! The story follows two characters, Katrina Katrell and Morty the Zorgle and their paths converge and journey on a whirlwind adventure to find the missing Zorgles. While the book is marketed toward middle grade aged children, I think you can recommend the audio book to as young as kindergarten. Young children will enjoy the Dr. Seuss-style rhyming and suspense and older children will appreciate the plot and language.

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LibraryThing member bnbookgirl

What a GREAT read aloud. The entire book is told in verse.

LibraryThing member RalphLagana

Normally, I'm not into Dr. Suess type books. This one was extremely playful and makes a great read aloud. It even worked well on the Kindle as there are a few pictures to go with the tale which when they appear are timed well and funny.

LibraryThing member Tracie_Shepherd

When I started this book it was fun to read the Dr. Seuss-like rhymes, then it was annoying, then I just enjoyed the story. I've tried to recommend this book to students but they can't get past the annoying rhyming to enjoy the story. I would encourage teachers to try to use this book as a read

aloud - thus a captive audience that might just learn to enjoy the story beyond the rhyming verse.

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LibraryThing member pussreboots

Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston is the tale of an unlikely friendship between a runaway and monster who works for a newspaper. Monty, the reporter, is the son of a once great hero, but now his father is ill and in hospice. So when the Zorgles go missing, the only one left to save the day is the

very reluctant Monty.

The entire adventure is told in verse. It takes a page or two to get used to the meter. After that, things fall into place and the reader will be swept into Monty and Katrina's adventures. Their friendship is similar to Helena's and Valentine's from MirrorMask (2005) or Sarah and Hoggle in Labyrinth (1986).

The quest that Katrina and Monty take is delightfully illustrated, bringing to mind Fortunately the Milk by Neil Gaiman or Michael Ende's Neverending Story with a touch of The Adventure of Baron Munchausen (1986).

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LibraryThing member katiekrug

This audio was read by Alan Cumming, which should really be review enough, because Alan Cumming is funny and brilliant and I love him. It's a kids book about a little girl with an evil guardian who discovers monsters living underground, and she goes on an adventure. It's written in verse and is

rather clever and I sometimes found myself snorting out loud. Also, Alan Cumming narrates it (did I mention that?) and it's a wonderful listen.

4.5 stars

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LibraryThing member reader1009

Children's fiction/a novel in verse.
"Here is a story that's stranger than strange.
Before we begin you may want to arrange:

a blanket,
a cushion,
a comfortable seat,
and maybe some cocoa and something to eat."

Does that not make you want to read this?! With charming Edward Gorey-esque drawings and a

fresh cast of characters (sprinkled with lots of exciting new vocabulary words for youngsters to learn), this should definitely satisfy those girls and boys craving a bit more danger in their daily reads. Probably best for older grades, since some of the parts are quite scary (knives and teeth feature prominently).

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LibraryThing member bangerlm

Read this aloud to the kids. The whole story is in verse, like Dr. Seuss or Bill Peet, but longer and with minimal illustrations. It is impressive to write that much verse, but the plot felt a bit weak. The kids seemed to enjoy it, but quite a few times it was hard to follow and we had to go back

and figure out exactly what was going on.

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