A tale of delectable food, incredible friendship, and golden hearts from one of the world's most beloved storytellers! In truth, I didn't expect to like The Ickabog at all: of course, I was ecstatic when DOGO Books sent the novel to me, but I didn't think it could ever be up to par with the Harry Potter series, of which I had fallen in love with. And when I started reading, my thoughts didn't change much at first—a stereotypical glorious kingdom, materialistic king, et cetera, et cetera—until the plot thickened and I could not stop reading. Everything I considered flighty and unimportant in the beginning served as a runway for all the problems that began snowballing, and once again, J. K. Rowling's plot twists, multiple storylines, character development, and emotional scenes absolutely blew me away. I actually starting tearing up a bit halfway through, so relieved was I to see that familiar syntax and offhand humor of hers, and of course, I couldn't withhold the waterworks when the emotional scenes in the book rolled around. The Ickabog concerns itself with the struggle of orphanhood, the influence of manipulation, and how much power and fear one can really wield. The kingdom of Cornucopia fascinates me and I stayed up until one in the morning to finish reading this wonderful new world J. K. Rowling had created. One thing's for sure, this stunning author is not a one-trick pony, and Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens) meets The Darkdeep (Ally Condie, Brendon Reichs) in this new children's book, perfect for all ages.

The Ickabog tells the story of a kingdom called Cornucopia. This kingdom is known for its famous, wonderful (sometimes even joyful tear-inducing) food, beverages, and goods. Cornucopia is ruled by King Fred the Fearless. Sadly, King Fred isn’t so fearless after all. His two best friends, Lord Spittleworth and Lord Flapoon, keep up a facade of King Fred being a selfless and courageous king to the people of Cornucopia. Most of the people listen to this - even King Fred goes along with it. He actually starts believing these lies about himself so much that he is almost convinced that he IS the fearless king that his title suggests. Besides the fact that Cornucopia has a falsely courageous king that is built up of lies, the kingdom couldn’t be more perfect on the outside. However, even in this picturesque kingdom, there is a monster that is rumored to lurk in the Marshlands. The name of this monster is called the Ickabog. It’s rumored to eat sheep and even people! Some people say it’s just a myth or a children’s story... but is it? When the idea of the Ickabog being real wreaks havoc on the once peaceful kingdom of Cornucopia, good friends Bert Beamish and Daisy Dovetail decide to take matters into their own hands and figure out the truth of the Ickabog once and for all. Is the Ickabog just a silly myth or is there a real monster and danger lurks ahead? I really enjoyed this book! I loved the plot of the story and some of the complicated and corrupt characters. The Ickabog was not at all like Harry Potter (which I was sort of expecting) but a fantastic read nonetheless! I definitely recommend it!

Journey into the land of Cornucopia! Where king Fred the fearless reigns, the tastiest cheeses, wines, meats and pastries are made as well as where the Ickabog lives. Well MIGHT live. Everyone thinks the Ickabog is just a tale to frighten children. But what if it were true? So one day after being called vain and selfish by a child, King Fred decides to show how NOT selfish and NOT vain he is by helping a poor Marshlander rescue his dog from the Ickabog. But really this is just a façade to make himself feel better as everyone knows the Ickabog is fake.....well at least everyone thinks so until the king sees the Ickabog and Major Beamish is supposedly killed by it! But really Major Beamish was shot and Lord Spittleworth decides to reap the benefits of the unfortunate accident by proclaiming he was killed by the Ickabog and the country now needs to pay the Ickabog tax (most of which goes straight into his pocket). Things soon spiral out of control, and Cornucopia is in need of serious help! Read this book to find out if Lord Spittleworth gets away with all his lies and treachery or if he is brought to justice! I had different expectations for this book since I know J.K Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series. But, after realizing that this is supposed to be a whole different type of book I enjoyed it! I really loved how there are children's illustrations used throughout this book, I think it adds a really nice touch. I think this book would be a great book to be read-aloud before bed during thanksgiving time!