A traditional story form with several twists, ideal for reading aloud and acting out.
Take a deep breath, practice your pronunciation, and cruise through cumulative chaos in the glade.
Instead of building a house, this Jack lives in a glade, and what a tumultuous glade it is. Fairies bring a cake to a gnome that lives in the tree in the glade, but, in cascading action, an imp steals the cake, a mermaid trips the imp, a faun jostles the mermaid, a troll startles the faun, and goblins rush the troll. Just when it seems the long cumulative verse can’t possibly get any longer and the chaos reaches its peak, a dragon enters the scene. Grumpy from a bad day and an interrupted nap, she swoops through the glade with fire and smoke, startling all the woodland creatures and unwinding all the action. The creatures are stunned until Jack, the unicorn hero, at last takes center stage. He is “all sparkly and bright,” and his “magical horn shimmers / both day and night.” With a kiss to the dragon, “who swoons with delight,” Jack starts a new cascade of hugs and kisses that restores neighborly love and results in a happy gathering to share the cake. Richly colored and really goofy cartoons highlight the fast action and capture the changing emotions of the woodland creatures as the chain reaction of interactions proceeds. Periodic end rhyme adds to the fun and anchors the text as an aid to reading. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads reviewed at 40.8% of actual size.)
A traditional story form with several twists, ideal for reading aloud and acting out. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3850-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn.
A young owl achieves his grand ambition.
Owl, an adorably earnest and gallant little owlet, dreams of being a knight. He imagines himself defeating dragons and winning favor far and wide through his brave exploits. When a record number of knights go missing, Owl applies to Knight School and is surprisingly accepted. He is much smaller than the other knights-in-training, struggles to wield weapons, and has “a habit of nodding off during the day.” Nevertheless, he graduates and is assigned to the Knight Night Watch. While patrolling the castle walls one night, a hungry dragon shows up and Owl must use his wits to avoid meeting a terrible end. The result is both humorous and heartwarming, offering an affirmation of courage and clear thinking no matter one’s size…and demonstrating the power of a midnight snack. The story never directly addresses the question of the missing knights, but it is hinted that they became the dragon’s fodder, leaving readers to question Owl’s decision to befriend the beast. Humor is supplied by the characters’ facial expressions and accented by the fact that Owl is the only animal in his order of big, burly human knights. Denise’s accomplished digital illustrations—many of which are full bleeds—often use a warm sepia palette that evokes a feeling of antiquity, and some spreads feature a pleasing play of chiaroscuro that creates suspense and drama.
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-31062-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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