When I first saw that ZORGAMAZOO (Razorbill, October 2008) was written in rhymed couplets, I sorta winced. It has been a while since I read rhyme this lengthy and I wondered if I would grow weary or develop that sing songy ting in my head a la Romper Room. I am happy to report that neither happened. And I thoroughly loved this story of Katrina Katrell, a young girl who can see things others cannot or will not. Her guardian, Mrs. Krabone (Katrina calls her Krabby) plans to have her lobotomized (see why this rhyming couplet thing is not a deterrent?) and so Katrina escapes and hooks up with Morty the zorgle who has been challenged to find out the whereabouts of all the missing zorgles of Zorgamazoo. Aliens, robotic monsters, creatures of fairy and fantasy all populate this adventurous tale. I particularly liked the sketches that adorn the drop caps at the openings of each chapter and some that wiggle across the white spaces around the poem/story. What a lovely book for reading aloud to kids of all ages. Tie this one to China Mieville's UN LUN DUN, too.