The Missing Barbegazi

This is a super sweet middle grade read that touches on themes of friendship and natural conservation via the story of a young girl who discovers that the barbegazi, goblin-like creatures who her grandfather has always said lived in the Alps, are actually real! The snowy setting is really well done - the imagery is vivid and it's clear that the author either knows the area well or has done a lot of research. The barbegazi themselves are a really lovely addition to the ranks of folkloric nature creatures - they feel very much like brownies or hobs, with their helpful nature but wariness of humankind. There's plenty of excitement and an interesting setting (skiing features heavily!), and the story is very heart-warming. It's a lovely, whimsical, magical read that would be great for those growing out of Enid Blyton.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

I had concerns about this book for age 8. The vocabulary is somewhat sophisticated, but I may be off on kids' reading levels these days. Besides general reading level, I'm wondering how kids will do with the Swiss words and skiing terminology. I had to check the dictionary for 'piste' and 'off-piste'. Pronunciation is also challenging.

Other than that, I found this an enjoyable tale with sympathetic leading characters, a brand-new (to me) fairy creature, and a suitably nasty villain defeated by intelligence, planning, and bravery of Tessa, and Gawion, even Felix pitching in to help rescue Maeg.

Overall I'd recommend this to upper elementary and middle-grade readers. It has all the elements of a good kids story, even if there are few surprises or twists. That's not always necessary as long as the action moves the story forward.

Extra credit for the excerpts from the scholarly book on Barbegazis and the illustrations. The Barbegazi on the cover is a delightful edition to the world of Fae. It's a much more striking cover than the previous edition.

Since this book is not yet for sale. I'll hold my review for when it is available in November.

A fantastic adventure story set deep in the snowy mountains. The skiing terminology threw me at first; I figured most of it out from context, but it was quite unfamiliar to me. It didn't really matter, anyway, because I got swept up in the adventure story. This is a fascinating story of a young girl meeting the Yeti like creature her grandfather was scorned for believing in. I hope it's going to be a series, as a couple of minor story threads are left at the end, but if not it works fine on its own. A great read for adventurous children.

The Missing Barbegazi by H. S. Norup is a fantastic children's tale, drawing on little-known mythology to construct an engaging winter story. Tessa, a talented young snow-skier, believes in the barbegazi because her late Opa was saved by one after he was trapped by an avalanche. When the barbegazi find themselves in danger, it is Tessa and her cousin Felix who must risk all to save them.

The book switches between two primary points of view: Tessa's and the young male barbegazi, Gawion's. Despite this frequent shifting, the story is easy to follow, and both characters are engage well with their readers. As Tessa and Gawion's joint story develops, the author reveals further details of barbegazi mythology, making the thoroughness of her pre-writing research clear. The wintery setting for the book makes it a brilliant cosy read; it calls forth images of warm fireplaces, hot chocolates, and snowy adventures.

Overall, The Missing Barbegazi was a great read. By using existing mythology, Norup provides a healthy foundation upon which her story can rest, while leaving plenty of room for new imagination. This book, I'm sure, will be a smash hit among young readers when it releases on November 12th, 2019.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the concept of the book. The “barbegazi” and Tessa's adventure to search for them was an amusing and imaginative read.

The book seems very whimsical but it doesn't seem unlikely either that there could be creatures roaming around the world that H.S. Norup creates.

There's a special place in my child-like heart for this book.

It has an adventure, self-discovery, and magical creatures while exploring family and friendship. I loved how Tessa's grandfather played a big role in the book and in her journey of self-discovery.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I like this book a lot that I ended up finishing it within a day. The story started the day after Christmas and ended on New Year’s Eve. The author put so much details and writing within that week of the story plot. The author did a nice job to keep me interested albeit of emotions needed in the book when Tessa just lost her Opa and when her Oma ended up in the hospital.

The story is about magic, friendship, family and TRUST. This is a good children’s book that gives the young readers wide imagination of mountain elves as well as Learning mythical creatures in other countries. There is ALWAYS and MUST lesson when reading children’s books. Three lessons were learned in this: trust, loyalty and friendship.

A good recommendation for parents who have young children who loves magic as well as wide imagination. And skiing. A must.

Thank you netgalley and Pushkin Children’s for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I enjoyed the concept of this book - there are gnome-like creatures called “barbegazi” that rescue those trapped in an avalanche and shy away from humans at any other time.
Tessa has heard about the barbegazi since she was a little girl since her Grandfather claimed to have been rescued by one, and he read a book about them to his granddaughter. Opa (Grandfather in Switzerland or Germany) had died a few weeks ago and Tessa, her Mom and Oma (Grandmother) missed hom a great deal!
Tessa wants to meet a barbegazi, and she does, she meets a young male named Gawion who rescues her when she falls into a deep hole in the snow and she is trapped.
Tessa unknowingly saves the Gawion’s family from starvation when she learns that her Opa used to bring them berries every year, berries are the barbegazi’s only source of food besides snow and ice.
You will enjoy learning about these creatures and Tess’ adventures with Gawion!

The Missing Barbegazi is more than the story of one girl, Tessa, wanting to find the elusive barbegazi of the Alps to prove to her former friend Lisa that her and her recently deceased grandfather Opa are not crazy to believe that they exist.

It is also the story of Gawion, a 150-years-young barbegazi youth starting to show his independence and act upon his own instincts when it comes to who to trust to find his missing sister, Maeg.

Both Tessa and Gawion are learning about who to trust in their changing worlds and some of what is really important in life – such as when it is or is not important for someone else to believe you.

I really enjoyed this story, as it had a good mix of magic, realism, and touching poignancy. The effects of Opa’s recent passing on Tessa, her Oma (grandmother) and her mom is done in a realistic and sensitive way. Norup handles the complexity of the way death affects those who remain in a way that is accessible and enriches the story instead of stealing the whole show.

The other main theme was the search for the avalanche of barbegazi, one of whom has gone missing., and if and how Gawion should trust humans to help find her. Norup handles his dilemma well too, addressing the difficulties of being a youth on the cusp of teenagerhood/independence and the friction that can arise between child and parents during a stressful and difficult situation.

This is overall a magical tale full of heart, with a good balance of emotion and action to keep young readers engaged and enjoying the story while also getting some exposure to emotions and situations that they may soon be experiencing for themselves.

Helle Sidelmann Norup is Danish by birth and it shows in this work which would have been handled differently by am American author (assuming one had even thought to write this). The story is original, to begin with and not derived from some long line of stories rooted in a tired old fairy-tale, like so many US middle-grade authors do, but more than that, it's realistic and inventive, playful and fun, and tells an engaging and interesting story.

It's fiction, of course, but it would be so easy to believe something like this could happen or even has happened. Not being American, the author felt no compulsion whatsoever to set this in the USA, which an unfortunately large number of US authors seem to think is the only place in the world where anything worth writing about can take place. With an attitude like that pervading our literature, it was no surprise to me at all that we finally elected a president who is xenophobic and seems to think there's nowhere else on this planet other than the USA that merits any attention at all. Believe me, this book is a breath of fresh air in middle-grade writing.

Barbegazi are beings from the folklore of the French and the Swiss. The odd name comes from the French barbe-glacée, which literally means 'frozen beard'. Tessa - the main character in this story - grew up hearing of the barbegazi from her grandfather, who has recently died. Her grandmother isn't taking it well. Tessa feels that if she can locate a barbegazi, and prove - at least to herself and her grandmother - that her discredited grandfather wasn't deranged, it will help her grandmother to recover.

Well, guess what? She does find one! She finds a whole family of them and the family has a problem. Tessa is only too happy to help them out, but the problem is: barbegazi don't trust humans! Tessa will need to learn and grow, and take on her shoulders some adult values and traits. And she's equal to it!

She knows a lot about the barbegazi from her grandfather, but when she needs to know more, she reads the notes her grandfather left. Oh my - a girl who is shown to be intelligent by her actions, not from the fact that a lazy author simply told us she reads books! What a pleasant novelty! This is how you write a story about a smart young girl! You don't say she reads books, you show her studying a book to find answers! This author gets it. Far too many authors I've read do not.

I liked this story from the start, and though I'm far from middle-grade, it maintained my interest throughout. It was original, realistic, thoughtful, and fun. Tessa was shown authentically: not perfect, not a genius, not a dope, not cowardly, not super-powered, not squeamish or squeal-ish - just an ordinary girl who has a few things to prove not for herself, but to help others. This author nailed it completely, and I'm happy to commend this as a worthy read and a fun novel. It's one of the best I've read this year so far, middle-grade or otherwise!