Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Monster Mission
    Monster Mission
    Monster Mission
    Audiobook6 hours

    Monster Mission

    Written by Eva Ibbotson

    Narrated by Susan Jameson

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    Three children have been kidnapped by some mad aunts and panic is spreading. But Myrtle, Coral and Etta are far from killers - they need the children to help them in a caring mission. The secret island where they live is a sanctuary for wonderful creatures - mermaids, selkies, the boobrie bird, and even the Kraken. The kidnapped children love their magical life - but the Island of Monsters has become the target of some dangerous villians…
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherW. F. Howes Ltd
    Release dateJun 4, 2015
    ISBN9781471293863
    Author

    Eva Ibbotson

    Eva Ibbotson was born in Vienna in 1925 and moved to England with her father when the Nazis came into power. Ibbotson wrote more than twenty books for children and young adults, many of which garnered nominations for major awards for children's literature in the UK, including the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and the Whitbread Prize. Eva's critically acclaimed Journey to the River Sea won the Smarties Gold Medal in 2001. Set in the Amazon, it was written in honour of her deceased husband Alan, a former naturalist. Imaginative and humorous, Eva's books often convey her love of nature, in particular the Austrian countryside, which is evident in works such as The Star Of Kazan and A Song For Summer. Eva passed away at her home in Newcastle on October 20th 2010. Her final book, One Dog and His Boy, was published in May 2011.

    More audiobooks from Eva Ibbotson

    Related to Monster Mission

    Related audiobooks

    Children's Action & Adventure For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Silly Things

      Feb 1, 2022

      Silly Things
      2 min read

    • Article

      SWIFTIE Forever! TAYLOR

      Jan 6, 2022

      SWIFTIE Forever! TAYLOR
      2 min read

    • Article

      Best Books For Children

      Nov 4, 2020

      The sugar glider possum may be the smallest creature in the rainforest, but when Santa’s reindeer Comet sprains her ankle, Snap decides to audition for stand-in. Warren the Wallaby just laughs. But will Snap have the last laugh? This illustrated hard

      4 min read

    • Article

      Marked with SILVER

      Jan 17, 2024

      Marked with SILVER
      12 min read

    • Article

      Underwater Music

      Jul 1, 2020

      Underwater Music
      7 min read

    • Article

      READER Reviews

      Apr 8, 2020

      One of my favourite parts of this book is the map because it maps out the routes that all the female adventurers took. Each of the women went on their own adventures and through this book, I got to explore with them. Most of the time, the journeys we

      5 min read

    • Article

      Long Road Ahead special Request

      Jan 26, 2023

      Long Road Ahead special Request
      7 min read

    • Article

      Tootles Gets Lost

      Jan 5, 2023

      Tootles Gets Lost
      1 min read

    • Article

      Concerning The Future Of Souls

      Mar 19, 2024

      As a toddler she had caused a sensation in her family when she announced she wanted to live in a little hole like the ant. Not an ant, the ant. This might have been misheard. She was an easygoing child, not particularly thoughtful and stubbornly inar

      13 min read

    • Article

      Last Love

      Dec 8, 2023

      Last Love
      13 min read

    • Article

      The Kids Go WILD!

      Dec 18, 2022

      Mayhem and mirth with the man about the house The grandchildren wanted to go to the movies, but I insisted on the zoo. It was a sunny Sunday and the last place it seemed we should be was in a dark room full of strangers, chomping popcorn and watching

      2 min read

    • Article

      Lockdown Stories

      Nov 13, 2020

      Lockdown Stories
      6 min read

    • Article

      Cool Aussie Talent!

      Oct 5, 2022

      CAN YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO OUR READERS? “I’m an 18-year-old singer-songwriter from Perth, Western Australia. I love hiking and the beach, both, even more, when I get to bring my dogs. I’m currently studying a Bachelor of Environmental Science, maj

      6 min read

    • Article

      How To Make An Origami Hank!

      Nov 2, 2022

      There’s loads to love about the new animated adventure Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank. It’s a super-stylish splash of swordplay and belly laughs, as Hank – a dog with zero combat experience – is enlisted as a samurai to defend the cat town of Kakam

      6 min read

    • Article

      Reading Corner

      Sep 1, 2021

      Reading Corner
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Lifetime Of Discovery

      Dec 21, 2020

      A Lifetime Of Discovery
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Letterbox

      Apr 1, 2022

      Dear Cricket, Your magazine was first given to me by an older friend of mine, and now I’ve bought a subscription for another friend’s birthday. Your magazine will now bring joy to three people through a chain of giving—wow! I just wanted to thank you

      7 min read

    • Article

      Dear DOCTOR

      Feb 3, 2021

      Chris Young works as a children’s specialist for Golden Hare Books, an independent bookshop based in Edinburgh – this involves trying out all sorts of ways to get kids into reading. She also works as a part-time librarian, doing a similar job! She ha

      3 min read

    • Article

      Dear DOCTOR

      Jun 4, 2021

      Dear Reading Doctor, I live near the sea and I always go walking along the beach with my dog. The last time we were there, my dog found a piece of shiny marble. I thought that it was just an old stone, but then my sister told me that there are some

      3 min read

    • Article

      Middle of Nowhere

      Jan 8, 2021

      Middle of Nowhere
      5 min read

    • Article

      May The Fort Be With You

      Nov 2, 2023

      May The Fort Be With You
      14 min read

    • Article

      Born Free

      Aug 9, 2021

      Born Free
      6 min read

    • Article

      Losing My Rock

      Jun 19, 2019

      Losing My Rock
      5 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Mar 23, 2022

      Great Read
      5 min read

    • Article

      To You, With Love

      Oct 17, 2018

      To You, With Love
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Monster Mission

    4/5

    268 ratings13 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      A very fun middle grade fantasy reminiscent of older works.
    • 5/5
      This is a book about three old aunts living on a secret island, who take care of the sea creatures who wash up on the shore. But they need helpers, so they find two children, Fabio and Minette. But there is a tiny little problem boy named Lewbert, and his father, who almost kills them.I liked this book because it really focused on helping others. Also, the story is partly about animals. You have to read the book to learn about the more unusual island residents. It is a very good book, and that's why I gave it five stars!
    • 3/5
      Interesting book. This is an easy read and Ibbotson's writing is very well done. The only hesitation I have about this book is its premise kind of gives me the creeps. It is about a group of women who kidnap children to help them take care of the animals on an island. The children end up enjoying their time on the island and don't want to women to get in trouble for kidnapping them. The whole time I was reading it, I kept getting tripped up by Stockholm Syndrome vibes. The premise was kind of creepy so I don't know if I enjoyed the book to its full extent. Again, Ibbotson writes fantastically so if you can get over the weird capture-bonding thing going on, then I would recommend this book.
    • 2/5
      So far this is the 3rd story I’ve read by Eva Ibbotson, but unfortunately it’s my least favorite. It starts charmingly enough with the Aunts explaining that kidnapping is bad, but in this case it needs to be done. They need someone who will continue on with their legacy of caring for the magical and regular creatures that come seeking help to their far off island. Since neither of the three has children kidnapping is the only way. I know some reviewers had a problem with the kidnapping part, but I thought it was handled rather well and it did not bother me. What did bother me were some of the unexpected adult themes that were thrown in.

      Looking at the book and from the description I was expecting a charming, fairy tale like story with maybe an environmental theme. The 3 quirky aunts, a mermaid and giant bird are featured on the cover, there are some funny illustrations inside and it’s what I know Ibbotson produces from reading some of her previous books. But to my surprise she threw in a mermaid with an abusive, cheating husband, another mermaid who was manhandled and possibly sexually assaulted by a Lord, villains who are strapping some serious guns and are implied to do drug runs and carry whores on their yacht and a bratty kid who smiles while “thinking about: all the people he hated lying dead in their own blood” (p. 61).

      Not at all what I expected.

      I don’t know what age group this is geared towards, but these themes didn’t seem appropriate for children’s literature especially one that won a literary award. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me being an “adult” or a “prude” even though I normally don’t let things like this bother me it did with this book. I felt like it could’ve been a better book if Ibbotson hadn’t thrown those things in and had concentrated more on the environmental theme of the book. Maybe children reading it will glaze over those details and get distracted by the funny illustrations, but for me I just found it jarring.

      I did enjoy parts of the story though. The aunts for the most part were hilarious and quirky. I liked the illustrations. This one in particular had me laughing:


      I also enjoyed the magical creatures…even the mermaids. I loved that the kraken makes an appearance and it’s not the typical mythological creature we are used to seeing. Overall, it is a creative story and I think any child or adult, for that matter, would love to visit the magical island. I’m only marking it two stars because the adult themes bothered and distracted me from the story.
    • 3/5
      Mermaids, selkies, the kracken (not the awful beast from Pirates--just a myth)--this book has it all.
    • 4/5
      What do you do when you are getting older and have no relatives to take over your life's work? Why kidnap some children, of course! So begins this fantastic tale of Dickensian children living in a Roald Dahl world. Three eccentric aunts live on a secret island and nurture the unusual creatures that come to them for refuge: a family of Mermaids living in sinks and tubs, a giant nesting Boobrie who must be kept fed, and an enormous hypochondriac worm who mopes about the place. When the aunts realize they won't be able to continue on alone much longer, they hatch a scheme to kidnap some children to help them in their work. Their plan succeeds, and the ocean's balance is maintained with the help of the grand Kraken. That is, until one boy's father reluctantly decides to rescue his son and make a fortune exploiting the creatures of the island.

      This is the second Ibbotson book which my daughter and I have read aloud, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. The aunts are wacky but loving, the creatures of the island are human-like in their cares, and the kidnapped children enjoy an adventure of magical proportions. For children who love animals and are concerned about the health of the environment, this book will particularly resonate and entertain. If you like [James and the Giant Peach], you will enjoy this story as well.
    • 3/5
      A British publication means some expressions are odd to Americans. A fascinating story of kidnap and mythical creatures. The story centers around Minette and Fabio, the kidnapped children who learn to care for the creatures, and unfortunately the relationship between them and the Aunts is underdeveloped. As the story concludes, the action is implied more than described, but still a wonderful,whimsical experience. I would recommend to anyone with imagination.
    • 5/5
      The story follows the two children who are kidnapped by three sisters to help them take care of their island. Their captors, however, turn out to be kind and quirky women, the island full of amazing and magical creatures, and their lives there much better than those they lived with their families back at home.This was one of my favorite books from around 6th grade or so, and I still reread it from time to time now. Eva Ibbotson can always be counted on for fun and interesting fantasy stories, and "Island of the Aunts" is no exception.
    • 4/5
      I really liked the funny characters in this book and their adventures. There are tons of enjoyable fantasy characters too.
    • 4/5
      One of those weird occurrences when you're browsing through the library trying to find something to check out so you don't get in trouble and it turns out to actually be pretty good. I just love the plot of the book, it's so hilarious if you think about it carefully, but it's still very good. You could probably go through life without reading though, so don't waste your time if you're not a reading addict who has to read anything within grasp, it's something that you read on a chance encounter and you'll probably eventually forget you ever read it, I had to wrack my brains to remember the title. But it's worth reading, so, don't forget to grab it if you ever see it on your local library's shelf.
    • 4/5
      This book is about 3 aunts who own a small island that is yet to be discovered by the government. They need help taking care of their island so they decide to kidnap kids to help. 2 of the kids enjoy working with the creatures and respect the island but the other one is the exact opposite.
    • 5/5
      Sisters Etta, Cora, and Myrtle are getting older and they know that they're going to need some help taking care of the creatures that reside on their island. What they need are a couple of strong, open-minded children. Children nobody seems to want. Children who will grow up on the island and learn to love and care for the creatures that come there for help. There doesn't seem to be any other way to get such children except to kidnap them. So that's what the sisters decide to do. When Minette and Fabio first come to the island, they don't love it instantly... but once they find out the special creatures they will be taking care of, they grow to love it. But what will happen when the future of the island is threatened? Another hit by Ibbotson. She tells the story with wit and humor. It's funny and touching with a dash of adventure. Highly recommended for fantasy fans.
    • 5/5
      Children chosen to take care of an island full of mystical creatures! What could be more exciting!