Starred Review ALA Booklist (Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

Starred Review Told entirely in rhyming couplets that are nearly impossible not to read aloud, this lively tale follows young Katrina Katrell on a fantastical journey from her home, through secret underground tunnels, into a hidden city, and even to the moon. Along for the adventure is a zorgle named Morty, a timid creature who has been tasked to discover the whereabouts of his missing brethren. The zorgles, along with the rest of earth's most fantastical beasties, have been kidnapped in a diabolical plan that is much too complicated to get into but rather ingeniously involves ridding the world of everything magical and interesting, leaving it ripe for those dullards who have "no time for the whimsical things, / for pirates and gadgets and creatures and kings." This scuffle between enchantment and tedium is the very stuff of childhood, where the greatest menace isn't scary creatures and such but listless imaginations and a lack of wonder. In that way, this book is a natural descendant of the works of Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl while hewing close to the droll atmospherics of Edward Gorey and Lemony Snicket. Ready your most nefarious whisper and spectacular boom, and read these bouncing, fanciful rhymes aloud to those who can't go it alone.

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Adventurous Katrina Katrell believes in "creatures of many remarkable shapes." She helps one such creature, Morty Yorgle (a zorgle), find the missing zorgles of Zorgamazoo. In rhymed anapestic tetrameter Weston brings readers to planet Graybalon-4 and back, telling a well-constructed story with fully realized characters and plenty of humor. Fancifully frightening spot illustrations and typographical trickery create an inviting visual package.

Kirkus Reviews

Preteen Katrina Katrell has always seen things others don't. Her bored and boring guardian Mrs. Krabone is so fed up she calls lobotomy specialist Dr. LeFang to take care of the problem. Katrina escapes but gets into further trouble, and reluctant adventurer Mortimer Yorgle, a Zorgle who lives in a parallel world beneath the ground with other fantasy beasts, comes to her rescue. The two set off to find the missing Zorgles of Zorgamazoo. What they discover is a nefarious plot from outer space to make Earth more boring by kidnapping fantastical beasts (which, by the way, are real) and upping the production of Tedium Steam. The planet behind the plot, Graybalon-Four, runs on the stuff. Much saving of the day ensues. Weston's debut fantasy in rhymed verse is at once silly and gross. If Seuss and Dahl collaborated early in their careers, something similar might have resulted. Though the language is often a slave to the rhyme, and that rhyme is sometimes a stretch, Snicket fans and reluctant readers not afraid of a peek at verse will likely feel right at home. (Fantasy. 9-11)

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6 Katrina Katrell has a feisty demeanor and vivid imagination. She is under the care of boring and mean Mrs. Krabone who wants to stifle her whimsical thoughts by cutting out the "naughtiest bits of her brain." Upon overhearing her guardian talk with the lobotomy doctor about the "cranial puncturing mincer of mind" tool, she hightails it out her bedroom window where she meets her rescuer, Morty. He's a non-adventurous, hairy creature called a Zorgle who has been chosen by lottery to search for the missing Zorgles of Zorgamazoo. Together Katrina and Morty find Zorgamazoo, only to be captured and transported to the moon where all the interesting and fantastical creatures are being taken. Graylians from the planet Graybalon-4 are behind the heist to acquire more Tedium Steam. Robert Paul Weston's well-crafted rhyming verse is funny and gross, reminiscent of Roald Dahl and Dr. Seuss. Alan Cummings expertly executes the intended rhythmic meter and brings a myriad of characters to life with his complex and raspy voice. His Scottish accent will draw listeners into this fantasy land. Caitlyn Walsh, Fayetteville Public Library, Fayetteville, AR