The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers

After reading and enjoying Caroline Arnold's The Terrible Hodag, which sets out a tall-tale concerning northern Wisconsin's own woodland "monster" - a creature with the head of an ox, the feet of a bear, the back of a dinosaur and the tail of an alligator - I was excited to discover that she'd

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returned to the adventures of the Hodag! Unlike the first installment, which was a retelling of a folktale, this story is Arnold's own original creation, based upon the traditional characters.

When Olee Swenson and his fellow lumberjacks discover that animal-catchers have arrived in the woods, determined to catch the Hodag and put him in a zoo, they set out to help their gentle friend evade his hunters. Although not quite as engaging as the first - after all, the reader already knows the Hodag is a friend in this one - The Terrible Hodag and The Animal Catchers is still an engaging tale. John Sandford's black and white prints are immensely appealing, capturing the emotions of the characters in the fine details. All in all, a worthy addition to the small body of work devoted to this mythological creature. Now if only I could find a larger collection of Hodag tales!

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