Not particularly challenging—nor, since the settings are conventional enough that even younger children will probably find...
In the same vein as the author’s Once Upon a Time Map Book (1999 with foldouts; flat edition 2004), more map-reading practice in the guise of an ocean voyage and six tours of spooky landscapes or locales.
Hennessy starts by inviting armchair travelers to step aboard the Ghostly Galleon in a Mediterranean “Haunted Harbor” and later to join such tour guides as Gruesome Gus for a trip around the “Western Terror-tories,” and Hercules as he revisits the sites of selected labors in the “Land of Mythical Monsters.” For each expedition, the author lays out an itinerary with map coordinates in stages measured by “mermaid leagues,” “zombie miles” or like appropriate units. Readers can trace each route on uncluttered painted aerial or cutaway views that fill about two thirds of their spreads. These come with number/letter grids (in a lightweight typeface that makes it hard to distinguish a “1” from an “I”), compass roses, keys and large (superfluous) labels on major features—as well as various mermaids and monsters, plus tiny black cats or other not-exactly-concealed items to spot. Madrid’s digitally produced illustrations include full-page “close ups” that, for some reason, differ in detail from their corresponding iterations on the maps.
Not particularly challenging—nor, since the settings are conventional enough that even younger children will probably find them familiar, particularly scary either. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: June 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4541-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Italics and exclamation points may be overused, but this new humorous series is full of gently amusing magical surprises.
Shades of Bewitched, the old TV show featuring a witch married to a regular guy.
This new chapter-book series stars Pandora, a white girl with two grandmas—the good witch, Granny Crow, in a patterned minidress, whose magical powers enliven any party or school outing, and Granny Podmore, in her cardigan and plaid skirt, a kind but stereotypical grandmother who cleans and cooks. Pandora’s friends include Nellie, a black girl, and Nellie’s mom is also depicted as black in the exuberant line drawings with gray washes. The three chapterlong adventures are rather tame, meant for readers who want fun rather than fright. In “The Super-Spooky Fright Night!” (all titles have exclamation points), the two grandmothers host a Halloween party. Granny Crow creates “bat-shaped cookies that hung around the bowls, and a custard cat (that actually meowed!).” Granny Podmore makes “the neatest swans” from napkins. Granny Crow conjures up musical broomsticks when Granny Podmore wants to introduce musical chairs. The evening ends happily when Granny Podmore uses Ollie, her vacuum cleaner, to suck up little pumpkins from Granny Crow’s pumpkin pop gone wild. Only Granny Crow appears in the other stories, making teddy bears come alive to give a “teddy bears’ picnic!” and causing a nasty teacher to accidentally cast a spell that turns a school swimming lesson into utter chaos.
Italics and exclamation points may be overused, but this new humorous series is full of gently amusing magical surprises. (Fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8653-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
An uplifting feline tale with bumpy rhymes; well suited for families looking for Nativity stories.
A kitten dreams of being part of the original Christmas story in this rhyming picture book.
A kitten named Jordan lives with his brothers, sisters, and aunt in a small town in a valley. As Christmas Eve approaches, the kittens have hung their mittens, hoping for gifts from Santa Claws. Jordan can’t sleep, wondering about the best present he’ll get, but when he finally dozes off, he dreams of being present at the birth of Jesus. Snuggling with the Christ child, Jordan watches others give gifts and worries that he has nothing to contribute until Mary assures him: “Your gift was your purr, / Your adornment for my babe, / and the warmth of your fur.” When Jordan wakes, he realizes that the best gift isn’t a thing; it’s a small kindness given out of love. This sweet message is likely to appeal to young churchgoers who celebrate the religious parts of Christmas. The small, uncredited, traditional illustrations feature friendly-looking felines done in a childlike style. The diverse humans are shown as shapes rather than detailed figures, much like the pieces in a Nativity scene. Terrell’s rhyme scheme changes regularly, with the patterns varying in the different stanzas, which can make the scansion hard to follow. The accessible vocabulary, with only a few difficult words (crocheted, sublime), makes the poetry accessible to independent readers, especially those already familiar with the Christmas story.
An uplifting feline tale with bumpy rhymes; well suited for families looking for Nativity stories.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-973690-82-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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