Cryptid Hunters is a 2005 young adult science fiction novel by Roland Smith; it follows the adventures of thirteen-year-old siblings Grace and Marty O'Hara, who are sent to live with their Uncle Wolfe after their parents are lost in an accident. He is an anthropologist on a remote island, searching for cryptids, which are animals thought to be extinct or not to exist. His rival Noah Blackwood, a popular animal collector, tries to acquire an alleged dinosaur egg from Wolfe, and the twins get involved in the conflict which reveals a convoluted family history.[1] The novel was nominated for several library awards and book lists, which include Hawaii's 2008 Nene Recommended Book List,[2] the Texas Library Association's 2007-2008 Lone Star Reading List,[3] and Third Place for the Missouri Association of School Librarians' Mark Twain Readers Award.[4] Smith has written three sequels called Tentacles, Chupacabra, and Mutation.[5]

Cryptid Hunters
AuthorRoland Smith
Cover artistGail Doobinin
LanguageEnglish
SeriesMarty and Grace
GenreFantasy, Adventure, Science Fiction
PublisherHyperion Books, Scholastic
Publication date
February 2005 (2005-02)
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Pages352
Awardssee Accolades
ISBN978-0786851614
OCLC61772218
LC ClassPZ7.S65766 Cr 2005
Followed byTentacles 

Reception

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A Kirkus magazine review described the story as "a B-movie with email". The "enjoyably rollicking adventures are appropriately cheesy; the stereotypes, though equally fitting, are a bit much."[6] Author Wendy Sparrow wrote that "the book was like the Magic Treehouse kids all grown up and taking on Jurassic Park or Journey to the Center of the Earth." She enjoyed Grace and Marty's "fun and real" personalities. The five-year-old technology was not dated, and the book was surprisingly audience-friendly that she could read it to her seven-year-old son.[7] A review in Publishers Weekly read, "This unsatisfying journey is less about cryptids than it is about soap opera–esque family intrigue".[8]

Publication

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A list of notable formats is as follows:

Release Date Publisher format pages ISBN
February 2005[note 1] Hyperion Books[note 2] hardcover 352pp 978-0786851614
2005[note 3] Scholastic paperback 348pp 978-0439799232
978-0439798112
March/April 2006[note 4] Hyperion Books trade paperback 352pp 978-0786851621
April 2006 Turtleback Books library binding 348pp 978-1417732395

Accolades

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The following states and organizations have placed Cryptid Hunters on their suggested reading lists:

  • 2009-2010 Young Hoosier Book Award, Middle School category, Indiana Library Federation.[9][10]
  • 2008 Nene Recommended Book List, Hawaii.[2]
  • 2007-2008 Mark Twain Readers Award - 3rd Place, Missouri Association of School Librarians.[11]
  • 2007-2008 South Carolina Junior Book Award nominee, 6th-8th Grade, South Carolina Association of School Librarians.[12][13][14]
  • 2007 Colorado Children's Book Award nominee, Junior Book, Colorado Council International Reading Association.[15]
  • 2007 Nevada Young Readers Award winner, Intermediate Category, Nevada Library Association.[16][17]
  • 2006-2007 Black-Eyed Susan Award nominee, Maryland.[18][19]
  • 2006-2007 Lone Star Reading List, Grades 6-8, Texas Library Association.[3][20]
  • 2006-2007 Sunshine State Young Readers Award winner, grades 3-5, Florida Association for Media in Education.[21]

Notes

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  1. ^ Original publishing month is as referenced by published reviews. Some of the distributor websites such as Amazon, Barnes&Noble have posted a release date as early as December 27, 2004.
  2. ^ The publisher, Hyperion Books, has also been referred to as Disney-Hyperion, and Hyperion Books for Children.
  3. ^ Worldcat.org has listed a publish date of January 1, 2005, but this may be a filler for any unknown dates in 2005.
  4. ^ Amazon posted a release date of March 21, 2006, while Barnes&Noble and Goodreads.com posted a release date of April 1, 2006.

References

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  1. ^ "Cryptid Hunters". Powell's Books. - contains review from "Cryptid Hunter". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 252, no. 7. February 14, 2005. p. 77.
  2. ^ a b "2008 Recommended Book List". Nēnē. nene.k12.hi.us. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Lone Star Reading List". City of Austin - APL. austinlibrary.com. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  4. ^ "2007-2008 Mark Twain Readers Award Winners". Missouri Association of School Librarians. maslonline.org. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  5. ^ "Roland Smith". Fantastic Fiction. Retrieved 2015-04-11.
  6. ^ "Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith". Kirkus Reviews. Vol. 72, no. 24. December 15, 2004. p. 1208.
  7. ^ Sparrow, Wendy. "Wendy Sparrow's reviews - Cryptid Hunters (Marty and Grace, #1)". goodreads.com. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  8. ^ "Children's Book Review: Cryptid Hunter". PublishersWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
  9. ^ "YHBA Past Winners". Indiana Library Federation. ilfonline.org. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  10. ^ "YHBA Past Nominees" (PDF). Indiana Library Federation. ilfonline.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  11. ^ "2007-2008 Mark Twain Readers Award Winners - Missouri Association of School Librarians". Maslonline.org. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  12. ^ "South Carolina Book Award Committee 2006-2007" (PDF). South Carolina Association of School Libraries. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  13. ^ "Junior Book Award « SCASL". South Carolina Association of School Libraries. 2012-04-01. Archived from the original on 2013-04-10. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  14. ^ "Hughes Academy Media Center". Greenville County Schools. greenville.k12.sc.us. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  15. ^ "Children's Literature Reviews". Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. clcd.odyssi.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  16. ^ "Nevada Young Readers' Award - Past Winners". Nevada Library Association. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  17. ^ "Oregon Authors - Smith, Roland". Oregon Authors. oregonauthors.org. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  18. ^ "2007 Black-Eyed Susan Books Packet" (PDF). McDaniel College. mcdaniel.edu. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  19. ^ "WKMS Suggested 2006-2007 Reading Page". Frederick County Public Schools. fcps.org. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  20. ^ "Lone Star Reading List". Texas Library Association. Retrieved 2013-05-04. - select All Lists, then Master List, which is in Excel format
  21. ^ "SSYRA General Information/Links - Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME)". Floridamedia.org. 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
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