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THE RESCUED PUPPY

From the Pet Rescue Adventures series

Thoroughly bloodless

A pair of twins has a scary adventure with their new puppy.

Readers primed by the title to think this book will be about an abandoned puppy rescued through adoption will quickly readjust their expectations when they learn that cocker spaniel Cooper was purchased from a breeder and will then spend the next 80 pages wondering when the rescue might occur. Since these 80 pages are almost completely devoid of excitement, they will be forgiven their increasing skepticism. Alex and Becky, white 9-year-old twins, are exemplary pet owners. They take Cooper to obedience school, they refrain from leash walking Cooper till he’s 5 months old, they never take him off the leash outside the backyard. This tedious adherence to best practices extends to the rest of their lives: when they go on a beach vacation, they wear sunscreen, wait after they’ve eaten before swimming, and stay in the shallows. “Careful” and “carefully” are their watchwords. The only thing these two goody-goodies do that’s even slightly interesting is bicker, which is how they happen to drop the leash next to a cliff edge, at last setting into motion the calamity that leads to the titular rescue—effected by the Coast Guard, because doing it themselves would, of course, be unsafe. Publishing simultaneously are Sammy the Shy Kitten, The Secret Kitten, and The Tiniest Puppy.

Thoroughly bloodless . (Fiction. 7-10)

Pub Date: March 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-68010-402-8

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Tiger Tales

Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017

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CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AND THE TYRANNICAL RETALIATION OF THE TURBO TOILET 2000

From the Captain Underpants series , Vol. 11

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

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CODY HARMON, KING OF PETS

From the Franklin School Friends series

Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.

When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.

As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?

Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)

Pub Date: June 14, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016

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