A charming tale of adventure and friendship.
Petey, a lovable, hardworking donkey, goes for a wild ride in this illustrated debut children’s book.
At the real-life C Lazy U Ranch in Colorado, Petey the Sicilian donkey has a pretty good life. He loves everything about his job, which includes celebrating opening day for the Colorado Rockies baseball team, greeting children and giving them cart rides, hanging out with the horses in pasture, carrying packs and tents for campers, and mostly just lazing about on his 8,500-acre home. Petey introduces readers to everything that goes on at the C Lazy U Ranch, from how the guests spend their days at the spa (Petey makes an appearance soaking in a copper tub) to how he helps protect the horses from coyotes that threaten them at pasture. When walking with the horses one day, Petey is swept into a strong river current: how will he stop himself from being carried off and away from C Lazy U Ranch? Craig’s debut is an exciting mix of education and fiction. Petey, who has a pretty busy life for such a docile creature, explains what he does on the ranch and how the whole enterprise runs—a stimulating lesson for kids and adults alike who are intrigued by horses, cowboys, and ranch life. The adventure comes into play when Petey is washed down the river and eventually saved by his pal Wolf. Both parts are enjoyable, but the story would have benefited from both strands getting equal space. As is, the educational section greatly outweighs the misadventure, so the pacing is a bit off. Petey and Wolf’s real-life friendship is heartwarming, and kids and adults alike are sure to enjoy the unlikely pairing of a short donkey and a graceful horse. Pendleton’s illustrations are delightful: Petey is one cute donkey, and the images are inspired by the real C Lazy U Ranch in Colorado, about 90 miles outside of Denver. Kids might be eager to book a trip so they can meet the book’s sweet protagonist in person.
A charming tale of adventure and friendship.Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-615-96247-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: The C Lazy U Ranch
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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