The Mysterious Howling

Very original, with strong characters.

This was delightful! As an adult this is the exact type of children's lit I like to read, but I do believe I would have enjoyed it when I was a child as well.

The narrator is very entertaining, Penelope is quite intelligent though also very sheltered/naive too (in the best way) and the children are adorable! Also I listened to this on audiobook and the woman who preformed it, Katherine Kellgrin, was a excellent! Highly recommend it!

Loved the way it ended on a mystery as well and can't wait to pick up the second one.

Absolutely love it! :-D

15 years old Penelope becomes the governess to three lovely wolf-children. She is amazing at her job and it's not damaged by the fact that the children are like wolves, kind, obedient, intelligent and curious. Willing to please her, whom they take as the pack leader and surrogate mother.
I love her attitude toward the children - assuming they are intelligent human beings, but using some communication skills she learned from working with an animal trainer, understanding that that is the way the children were raised... I am autistic, and I wish people spend more time trying to figure out new ways of communicating instead of trying to force people to communicate the way they do. :-(
The book ends with some foreshadowing, and this time, because I happen to know at least some things coming, I'm not upset because of the closeness to the edge of the cliff. It's not really a cliffhanger, but there is most certainly enough questions to make me want to read the next book immediately!

I love these characters! Even the villains are enjoyable, even though thoroughly unlikable :-D
I love the story, I love her writing and - I suppose if there were any negatives to talk about, some details that just don't fit the time. Nothing that irritates, though.

Wonderful.

I loved this book and can't wait to read it to my daughter. I found the writing style very funny and Engaging, and loved the characters.

I read this book several years ago and enjoyed it. Without an audiobook in the queue, I found this was available and took a chance on it. The story is still fun and I love the main character's voice. For the audiobook, I enjoyed the narrator. How she did the howls were great (although to be completely honest after a while the howls did get a little annoying, not the narrator's fault, I just think howling is annoying after a while). The first time I read it I liked it but not enough to read the next books in the series, but I think I will give them a chance now.

This is a fun series with an excellent narrator for the audiobooks. The children's howls and yips translate well to audio :) Highly recommend.

This story is a real let-down. And not too much actually happens. First of all, the “mysterious howling” of the title is only mentioned in the final chapter and left mysterious (this book is the first in a series). Is it too much to ask to tell a complete story in one book? I have read several other series for children that manage to do this. But this one is one tedious set-up. In this story the main character is a 15-year-old orphan turned governess for three younger children supposedly raised by wolves. I found the vocabulary within to be much too sophisticated at times. Here are a few of the words and phrases that appear in this story:

toilette, inexorably, botanical, apropos, solvent, behavioral psychology, Baroque sensibility, alma mater, eloquence, rustic, summons, reverie, distraught, enigmatic, inscrutable

Inscrutable, indeed. And yet when I finished reading the story and asked my kids what they thought, my eldest (aged 10) replied, “Awesome” and my youngest (aged 7) wanted to know what the next book in the series was called. I'm beginning to suspect my kids just enjoy being read to, period. (It also affords my 7-year-old an opportunity to climb into my lap.) I was often quite bored by this tale and did not find it clever in the slightest. I've read the first four of the Lemony Snicket books and they don't compare at all.

Narrator Review:
Without a doubt, Katherine Kellgren is my favorite new narrator. This book came to life because of her narration! She has fantastic voices for each character, the best of which in my opinion is Miss Penelope Lumley herself. Even her male voices are pretty spot on! She reads at a very pleasant pace, and makes sure to emphasize things that are “proper” in the book. If I had read this rather than listened to it, I'm sure I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. That's not to say the story isn't amazing, but hearing Kellgren howl, giggle and act proper was truly my favorite part of this book. If you can get your hands on the Audio CD, do it!

Audio Book Rating: 5/5 - I highly recommend listening to this audio book!

********

Book Review:
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place is by far the most fun middle grade series that I've started so far! Yes, I made sure it was indeed a series. I'm so smitten that if it wasn't I might have thrown a tantrum. The Mysterious Howling is the first book in the series, and it sets up quite a delightful set of characters and situations. More than anything I loved how original this story was. I digress though, let's get back to sharing with you why you need to read this book.

First of all the premise of the story is fantastic. Three orphans from the woods, apparently raised by wolves, are brought to Ashton Place. The only problem? They need looking after of course! Enter Miss Penelope Lumley, one of the sweetest characters I've met in a long time with a heart that is so huge it might literally explode. She finds a fondness for the children, despite their wolfish ways, and vows to treat them as any other charges she might have had. What ensues is a funny and rollicking story, complete with quite a few twists and turns along the way!

Those of you out there who find it necessary to love your characters will find it hard to ignore Miss Penelope Lumley and her adorable charges. Ever the professional lady, Penelope spends the book musing on the wise words of her mentor, Miss Agatha Swanburne. As for the young ones, Cassiopeia, Alexander and Beowulf are massive balls of sweet energy! From the moment they enter the scene, there is fun to be had. Then there is Lady Constance, who I must say I rather disliked but I think we are meant to, and Sir Ashton who I wanted to kick. Hard. Yes, that about rounds it out! All of them are different, each one has their own fantastic personality, and I found it hard not to feel a fondness for each of them in turn.

By far, my favorite part of this story was the third person view, that mostly focused on Penelope's thoughts. Watching her ponder over what to do next, scheme at how to help the children, and even let her thoughts wander, was so fantastic. If there was ever a character that I would blindly follow into many books beyond the first, it would be her. As I mentioned above, if you can get your hands on the audio book do it! Katherine Kellgren creates a voice for Penelope that made me smile again and again.

Long story short, this is one that you need to try! If you enjoy Victorian era mysteries, or even just crave a good middle grade novel, this one is for you. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling has snuggled its way into my heart, and I for one can not wait to dive into the next installment.