by Henry Cole ; illustrated by Henry Cole ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 9, 2016
Nestled in a small trim size, this is an appealing and accessible genre blend.
A young chipmunk finds his path.
Twig lives with other rodents and small mammals on the Hill, which is made of discarded metal, plastic, and rubber. But this isn’t dystopic pollution—narrative descriptions are romantically pastoral, with golden sunlight, sweet-smelling earth, bird song, and bees in honeysuckle. Twig’s problem is school: he doesn’t merit being named master of any specialty (such as Weaver, Smelter, or Carver) at the upcoming Naming Ceremony and will be forced to work as a scorned, lowly Errand Runner. Venturing farther afield than he’s ever been—down a river he’s never seen—Twig finds an egg that hatches into a dragon in front of his eyes. Animal-fantasy purists will be as surprised as Twig himself. Sneaking the dragon home, Twig faces issues of integrity. The dragon’s fiery breath welds metal for Twig’s school projects, which is cheating; encaging a dragon is wrong. Freeing it, on the other hand, might free Twig, too. Twig’s friend Lily, a rabbit, stays by his side, and an enemy inexplicably turns friend. Textual platitudes are dull stuff but easy to skim over. What’s special are Cole’s black-and-white pencil drawings, earnest yet emotionally sharp. Many are full-bleed pages; some convey information that the text doesn’t, such as the fact that the Burrow of Confinement (the Hill’s prison) is an abandoned front-load washing machine.
Nestled in a small trim size, this is an appealing and accessible genre blend. (Fantasy. 6-10)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-224546-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Henry Cole ; illustrated by Henry Cole
More by Henry Cole
BOOK REVIEW
by Henry Cole ; illustrated by Henry Cole
BOOK REVIEW
by Carmen Agra Deedy ; illustrated by Henry Cole
BOOK REVIEW
by Lester L. Laminack ; illustrated by Henry Cole
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 26, 2014
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
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey
More by Dav Pilkey
BOOK REVIEW
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
BOOK REVIEW
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
BOOK REVIEW
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
by Rosanne Parry illustrated by Lindsay Moore ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2020
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by Rosanne Parry
BOOK REVIEW
by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Jennifer Thermes
BOOK REVIEW
by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Kirbi Fagan
BOOK REVIEW
by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Niki Stage
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.