Odds Are Good: An Oddly Enough and Odder Than Ever Omnibus (Magic Carpet Books) [Paperback]

Bruce Coville (Author), Jane Yolen (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Magic Carpet Books | Publication Date: March 2006

Beloved for his hilarious and unexpectedly moving novels, Bruce Coville is also a master of the short story. These two collections, in one volume for the first time, feature eighteen tales of unusual breadth and emotional depth. This omnibus is a perfect introduction to Bruce Coville's magic for the uninitiated.

Includes an introduction by Jane Yolen.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This anthology of eighteen previously published magical tales features an alphabet of creatures from angels to werewolves. Each short story is both entertaining and meaningful. Many valuable lessons will be learned while reading Coville's short stories, i.e., self-acceptance, trustworthiness, loyalty, and selflessness. In the clever story titled "Am I Blue?" an adolescent, confused about his sexual orientation, receives a visit from his fairy godfather. One of his three wishes is to have every gay person turn blue. Later he learns that the boy who has been gay bashing him is blue. Another short story titled "Biscuits of Glory" is about a courageous boy who investigates odd noises coming from the kitchen. He finds a female ghost feverishly baking biscuits while singing a sad tune. The ghost's curse of returning to her former home to bake biscuits once a week is broken when the boy catches and eats one of her glorious floating biscuits. Odds are favorable that adolescents will take a deeper look at themselves and others after reading this thought-provoking title. 2006, Magic Carpet Books/Harcourt, Ages 12 up. (Children's Literature -Mary Jo Edwards )

About the Author

Popular author Bruce Coville has more than fourteen million books in print, including the bestselling My Teacher Is an Alien and Jennifer Murdley's Toad. He lives in Syracuse, New York.

Jane Yolen is a highly acclaimed children's author who has written hundreds of books for adults and children and has won numerous awards. She and her husband divide their time between Massachussetts and Scotland.

 

 

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Magic Carpet Books; 1 edition (March 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152057161
• ISBN-13: 978-0152057169
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,478,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bruce Coville was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1950. His family lived in farm territory, about twenty miles north of Syracuse. Bruce grew up around the corner from his grandparents' dairy farm, where he spent a great deal of time as a child, dodging cows and chores to the best of his ability. As a young reader he loved Mary Poppins and Dr. Dolittle, and still has fond memories of rising ahead of the rest of his family so he could huddle in a chair and read THE VOYAGES OF DR. DOLITTLE. He also read lots of things that people consider junk (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and zillions of comic books). His only real regret is the time he spent watching television, when he could have been reading instead. (A mind is a terrible thing to waste!)

His first book, THE FOOLISH GIANT, was published in 1978. It was illustrated by his wife, Katherine, whom he had married in 1969. This was followed in 1979 by SARAH'S UNICORN, also illustrated by Katherine. After a long period of working separately, the Covilles began collaborating again with SPACE BRAT and GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE, both published in 1992.

Before getting published Bruce earned his living as a toymaker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly line worker, and finally as an elementary school teacher (second and fourth grades). He left teaching in 1981 to devote himself to becoming a full time writer - though it took another five years to achieve that goal!)

Bruce has published nearly 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER'S RING. In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children's and young adult literature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for age intended: Disturbing, February 28, 2010

By 

B. Hough "SLP Mom" (Omaha, NE) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Odds Are Good: An Oddly Enough and Odder Than Ever Omnibus (Magic Carpet Books) (Paperback)

We read 1/2 of this book (Odder than ever)and would not recommend or choose to read anymore. The review is based upon this 1/2 of the book.
My mature 10 year old son (advanced reader) checked this book out from our school's elementary library hoping it would contain creepy mystery stories, similar to Goosebumps, but instead read very bizarre, at times disturbing stories which contained topics not appropriate for an elementary-middle school aged student.
One story is of a man who can't decide his sexual orientation so he is visited by his "fairy Godfather". The fairy Godfather originated after he was killed in a gay bashing incident(killed with a tire iron) and felt becoming a fairy Godfather was most appropriate since he spent his life being called faggot and fairy. The man wishes all gay people would turn blue so he doesn't have to refine his "gaydar" senses and then he can date more easily by identify individuals to date if he so chooses to become homosexual.
Another story is of a bloody mirror which brings a creature into your body every time you look at it ultimately killing one and living inside another. The boy has to contemplate suicide as a way of freeing himself from the creature.
After skimming a few other stories which involve death and torture and no resolve for a happy ending, I had read enough. Sadly, my son had read the whole book for a book report and was left disappointed and at his age did not fully understand all of the content and was overly creeped out by some of the other stories. If I had read this book prior to him, I would have helped him choose another.
After discussing this book with his teacher and another parent, all are in agreement that it was surprising that he found this at our library and will likely have it shipped to the high school. The cover, excerpts and back do not indicate the true nature of this book. My husband wonders what is the true agenda of this author promoting the book for this age level? As an educator, I do not promote book banning, but the explicit topic of deciding sexual orientation, gay-bashing and suicidal thoughts does not seem appropriate for an elementary library (even at 5th grade and is very questionable for middle school). Given the bizarre nature, older-aged topics and at times disturbing ideas this book has in contrast with wonderful literature/mysteries that is available, I would not recommend this for my 17 year old either.
Please use parental and educator caution when considering this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Fantasy Short Stories for Young Adults, May 4, 2009

By 

Lynn Ellingwood "The ESOL Teacher" (Webster, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Odds Are Good: An Oddly Enough and Odder Than Ever Omnibus (Magic Carpet Books) (Paperback)

This book actually strikes me as a the best written book by Bruce Coville I have read. His short stories are well written, concise and entertaining. The Box is a story about a boy who keeps a box for his angel who arrives years later to take it back. The Stinky Princess is a girl who chooses an "alternate" lifestyle to that of her well connected and sweet smelling parents The Language of Blood is about a boy who is chosen to be his culture's next vampire but he must approach his beloved in order to complete the task, something he is unwilling to do. There are many more interesting stories in this book and in my opinion are exanples of Bruce Coville's best writing.

5.0 out of 5 stars Rebuttal of B. Hough, November 29, 2010

By 

Emily "odd_duck83" (Fredericksburg, VA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Odds Are Good: An Oddly Enough and Odder Than Ever Omnibus (Magic Carpet Books) (Paperback)

To all who are put off by B. Hough's scathing review, I have this to say:

I am an English teacher currently working in a middle school, but I have also worked in elementary schools in the past. I grew up reading Bruce Coville. I read the stories in this collected anthology when I was about ten years old (all of them, unlike Ms. Hough) and was not "corrupted." Far from it, in fact. These stories are not only wildly entertaining, they also achieve exactly what they set out to do. The scary stories are thoroughly chilling, the funny stories are gut-bustingly hilarious (and of the gross-out humor variety, which ten-year-olds appreciate more than anyone), and the meaningful stories are poignant without being preachy or maudlin. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone from the age of about nine or ten and older.

As to the story "Am I Blue?"--it is my professional opinion that this is Mr. Coville's greatest work. Unlike the majority of his writing, it is not science-fiction or fantasy. It is a literary short story for children. In it, a young boy is tortured and humiliated by viscious bullies at his school. He is falling into depression when he is saved by a guardian angel, or "fairy godfather." I won't spoil what happens, but the point of the story is far more important than the plot. The point is that hatred of anyone based simply on who they are is an evil sin. Assuming that someone is gay or not based on how they look or act is also wrong. Ultimately though, this is a story of forgiveness and tolerance.

While teaching fifth grade in Virginia, I once had a girl in my class whose parents were a lesbian couple. They were excellent parents and the girl was a wonderful kid, but many of her classmates did not see that. Instead they teased and bullied her because of her family, because they didn't know any better. I wish I could have made every student and their parents read "Am I Blue?". I wish I could change the minds and hearts of people like Ms. Hough, who think it's better to infantilize kids and teach them that "different" means "wrong".

Please give this book a chance!