For fans of old-style stories.
Having ruled a community of children for a month, a princess heads home to free her kingdom from enemy invaders.
When Princess Juniper received a “brand-new, all-kids country” for her 13th birthday (Princess Juniper of the Hourglass, 2015), she created a romantic valley settlement for her 13 subjects; encountering the Anju, the reclusive, tribal culture of her late mother, she befriended them (Princess Juniper of the Anju, 2016). Now her father’s been overthrown by enemies back at the real castle, so she plots “How to Overthrow a Palace When You Are Understaffed, Underarmed, and Underaged.” Juniper’s team—including a deaf spy who lip-reads implausibly well but also signs and uses a patch of dark fabric stuck to her arm for writing on with chalk—haunts the castle’s hidden hallways and causes “little pranks and mischiefs” until they can manage a true upheaval. Twists and traitors abound, but between luxurious details (foods; a bone-handled comb always in Juniper’s sleeve) and Paquette’s playful diction (“spizzerinctum”; “curiously curious”; “Ruffians we have aplenty”), the vibe is “energetic mayhem” or “showtime!”—never scary. The narrative pace meanders a bit; the appeal is situation and intent more than action. The Anju have only a small role, though it’s still highly problematic for an indigenous-coded group to be at Juniper’s beck and call, even with their blood connection. Everyone besides mixed-race Juniper and the Anju is white.
For fans of old-style stories. (map, cast of characters) (Fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-17153-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale.
After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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