A laugh-out-loud tour de force; readers will be eager for the sequel.
There are strange goings-on at an amazing, not-entirely-normal elementary school.
Carson has been given the combination to locker 37, a magical repository that only his fellow fourth graders may know about. This locker can do absolutely anything and solve any problem, often in a wildly unexpected manner. Carson’s first problem involves the mysterious appearance of a stain of unknown origin in an embarrassing location on his pants. Carson opens locker 37 hoping for a clean pair of pants only to find a pink eraser with instructions to “rub three times.” He informs his “brilliantly strange” best friend, Riley, about both locker and eraser. She immediately tries it out, making several solid objects disappear. Carson accidently erases a toilet, causing a huge flood, and Riley lets loose a rainstorm of cockroaches when she erases a ceiling vent. And in a fit of frustration Carson erases Hunter, the class bully. What follows is wonderful, imaginative, magical hilarity, all in the service of obtaining a clean pair of pants and somehow retrieving Hunter from oblivion. Starmer’s third-person narration speaks directly to readers, with humorous asides and remarks, including “wait a second” math and history chapters that readers are invited to skip if they like. Carson is delightfully earnest, caring, and funny, as are his friends and teachers. Most of the characters present white in La Forest’s madly original green-and-gray cartoon illustrations.
A laugh-out-loud tour de force; readers will be eager for the sequel. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22285-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
File under “laugh riot.”
A rogue spell-check program’s bid to transform all life-forms into that eminently useful office item, the paper clip, touches off a fresh round of lunar lunacy.
Predicated on the entirely reasonable premise that eliminating all spelling and grammar errors everywhere would logically lead to the necessity of exterminating carbon-based life in the universe, this third series entry combines high stakes with daffy banter and daring exploits. CheckMate—a chipper, jumped-up editing program—has invented the Transmogratron, a giant laser that will fulfill its ultimate goals in both the cyber world and “meatspace.” Facing challenges as random as prankster lunar unicorns and a disarmingly motherly Motherboard, scowling First Cat joins a motley crew of diversely carbon- and silicon-based allies, led by the pearlescent Queen of the Moon. They’re in a race to the finish—diverted occasionally by, for instance, a relentlessly punny comic-book interlude featuring a pair of literal and figurative Pool Sharks. They ultimately triumph thanks to teamwork and moxie. Following a celebratory party and toasts to “new friends…and steadfast comrades” (and, of course, “MEOW”), the story’s energetic, brightly colored panels close with a reveal of the next volume. (“I always hate it when comics end by announcing a sequel. SO CRINGE!” declares an authorial stand-in.) It can’t come too soon.
File under “laugh riot.” (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780063315280
Page Count: 272
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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