Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes (Volume 1) (The Vanished Kingdom) Paperback – Illustrated, November 1, 2012

We read aloud to our kids every night. This book has been one of our favorites this year! It is hard to put down and we are so excited to pick it back up the next night to see where the adventure will go next!Of course it helps that my 10 year old son is named Peter!It is a little bit dark, nothing terribly graphic, but gruesome things happen and the danger is real. (Baby’s eyes pecked out by ravens. Animal cruelty by bad guys, etc.) But the title character is a moral center for the story, doing his best to be a hero.I don’t know why but it reminds me of the show 10th Kingdom. A fantasy setting that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

I'm Dad and this was read to 6, 8, and 11 year old boys at bedtime. As all quest books go, my favorite part's the gear collecting, character meeting, and ramping up to the big fight or score. Their favorite character was Frederick, his playful but powerful tone and his capable goodness. In the last quarter of the book, we've met everyone and got our tools, so we live with the folks we know. They are whole people and we liked them, feared them, and felt as though we knew them. Fantastic writing throughout. The frequency of more complex words increased here to the end and the plot got darker and bloodier. This tone shift had me taking pause but the kids didn't mind. I don't complain about it, kids didn't either, but we did have to add more time clarifying word meanings than enjoying in those last intense moments of story. Highlights were the boys in the harbortown fight, the person of Frederick, the fish hook learning, first use of Onyx in the desert, turnabout of Raven's function. Great read aloud book!

What really makes this book so engrossing is the creativity in it. Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes is a wonderful fantasy book for people ages 8 - ∞. The author has wonderful talent, as is evident by his use of suspense, character development, and creativity. The book has thrilling plot twists all over, and all of his characters develop in some way or another, whether they turn out to be backstabbing traitors, or loyal friends. He also knows how to build suspense, for instance when Peter and everyone else split up to go and make an end of the evil baron and free all the adults from his curse. Auxier’s use of suspense is part of why I enjoyed reading this book so much, and still hold a great deal of fondness for it. It does have some scary parts involving talking apes, clockwork armor, and a few other things. That's all part of the creativity that makes this story come together. This book does a brilliant job of entertaining the reader. You will enjoy it!

It wasn’t until chapter 5, or page 50 to be exact, that I found myself falling, willingly, into the world of Peter Nimble. Up ‘til then, it was a touch and go situation where I almost gave up the journey. Yawning and forcing myself to continue to read, because, after all, the night man from Auxier’s second book, The Night Gardener, had so enraptured me that I really didn’t want to believe that this book, albeit, a first attempt at brilliance, was anything but.And so it is, along with Sir Tode, the Haberdasher and the Taverner, that I followed Peter Nimble further into the adventure. And what an adventure it turned out to be!The tone set within the pages of this book is more YA than is The Night Gardener. However, not so much so that an adult won’t enjoy its rhythm. This book is beguiling, and the magic found on every page is engaging. Interesting to me is the way Auxier slyly slides himself into his third person narrative, using an omniscient point of view to speak directly to the reader. Skillfully done.Auxier is a self-admitted thief.* So writing about a thief is not so far-fetched for him. Peter Nimble, after all, is the greatest thief who ever lived, and being blind since birth only enhances his thievery. When Peter steals a box, he finds the ‘eyes’ that move his life into untold imaginings. Untold, that is, only for someone who isn’t Jonathan Auxier, the ‘Royal Storyteller.’* Auxier admits to being influenced by the likes of Dickens’ Oliver; C.S. Lewis’ Aslan; Peter Pan; and Gollum, among others. His insight for the inspiration of his own characters is pure mastermind. As you read, you can’t help but think, ‘Hey, this guy stole characters from those other guys!’ Actually, he didn’t ‘steal’ anything. It’s all a matter of sway. Auxier’s characters are from his own creepy little mind.

This book was, redundantly, delightful. From the first time I saw it on display at Barnes and Noble, I knew I wanted to read it. The cover art, the perfect title drew me in right away. That is exactly my favorite type of book: fantasy, wit, a bit of sarcastic narration, feel-good-ness (the proper term) and originality.As I read this book, I kept thinking that I was reading something entirely NEW. The story is so different than what I am used to reading- I was surprised several times, which was a nice change. Now, I know that no story is truly "new". I know that this author, as most do, used bits of stories from the ages and drew on several prominent themes from other books. However, there is something truly unique about what Auxier created. From his first line, I was completely hooked:"Now, for those of you who know anything about blind children, you are aware that they make the very best thieves."I have lent the book to several friends who also enjoyed it and purchased it for my nephews (9, 11, 13). I love that I can wholeheartedly recommend this book. Read it, you will love it. If nothing else, you will enjoy the story and be engaged by the narration, characters and plot.