One Beastly Beast by Garth Nix

This book of short stories from fantasy writer Garth Nix has four stories with odd and goofy premises. The first, Blackbread the Pirate, finds a boy returning DVDs for his mother only to have them stolen by pirate rats that emerge from the sewer. Soon the rat navy comes to the rescue. Another, The Princess and the Beastly Beast, features a young princess who is attacked by a large, clockwork monster. Then there's the orphan boy who likes to invent things, who has to find a way to avoid being adopted by suspicious aliens, and the Know It All girl who is meant to be sacrificed to a sea serpent. I thoroughly enjoyed all four stories which were light, fun and out-of-this-world. (One Beastly Beast (Two aliens, Three Inventors, Four Fantastic Tales) by Garth Nix. Ill. by Brian Biggs. Eos, 2007)