This sweet volume is sure to bounce off the shelves.
A perky rabbit and a fancy candy become best friends in this cheerful graphic novel.
Bunbun, an all-white rabbit, has almost everything: “a delightful Bunbun nose, a winning Bunbun smile, a ridiculously cute Bunbun tail,” and so on. But the one thing Bunbun does not have is a friend! Enter Bonbon. Initially mistaken for a talking rock, Bonbon is a bouncy, purple, and effervescently cheerful anthropomorphic piece of candy. The pair immediately becomes fast friends as they discover mutual passions for bouncing and for all things fancy: fancy vocabulary whether or not they know the meaning (“like croissant”), music, food (“fancy french fries and fancy ketchup!”). This all leads them to co-plan a fancy party! The story is virtually conflict-free; the most tension-filled moment is when the duo comes across a snake whom they assume to be a predator but who in fact is just looking for friendship too and ultimately joins their party. Both Bunbun and Bonbon remain ungendered throughout; neither is referred to with pronouns. Thick lines, clear borders, bright colors, and a bold, highly readable san serif type make this title ideal for newly independent readers or younger children looking for a first graphic novel to share with a grown-up. The multitalented Keating’s debut graphic novel is perfect for fans of Ben Clanton’s Narwhal and Jelly and Heather Ayris Burnell and Hazel Quintanilla’s Unicorn and Yeti.
This sweet volume is sure to bounce off the shelves. (Graphic early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-64683-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
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
First of a tasty if not immediately nourishing new series.
When Dr. Bunsen, Gabe, Laura, and Cesar's mad-scientist neighbor, tries out his growth machine on Gabe's plastic animal toys, there's an unexpected result—they come to life.
Second-grade whiz kids Gabriel Martinez, Laura Reyes, and Cesar Moreno meet their strange neighbor while fundraising for a science-club field trip. Known to their classmates as “the Data Set,” they each have individual passions: Gabe loves animals; Laura loves to tinker and invent; Cesar loves to read and eat. There’s room for all these activities in their well-equipped treehouse. Together, their fantastic adventures will be the stuff of four titles scheduled for 2016 and aimed directly at first- and second-graders already devouring books. This episode introduces the characters, sets up the problem (the cute but rapidly growing baby animals), and finds a solution (sneak them into the zoo) in 126 fast-paced pages written with plenty of dialogue and copiously illustrated with appealing drawings. With these Latino protagonists—Cesar has dark skin and curly hair, while Laura and Gabe have lighter skin and straight hair—and a STEM-infused plot, this would seem to have been made to order for today’s elementary school students. While the emphasis is far more on plot than STEM, the kid-friendly fantasy should captivate readers, who will certainly want to gobble up the next installment. (Tantalizingly, the opening pages are included.)
First of a tasty if not immediately nourishing new series. (Adventure. 5-8)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5729-3
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
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
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
