A comical, witchy, and sweetly affirming read.
Jazzy is the least witchy witch in her entire school.
Jazzy just doesn’t have it. When Madame Melcha, her teacher, takes the class for their first flying lesson, Jazzy barely leaves the ground. It’s pretty humiliating for a girl whose family runs St. James Besom Co., the local broommakers. Jazzy confides in her familiar, a purple bat named Fiona, that she doesn’t have the “spark for the craft.” But later that evening, Jazzy finds her spark while watching a bike race on television. Cycling begins to occupy all of Jazzy’s time. Her pale-skinned, green-haired friend Aggie encourages her to keep practicing flying and studying spells, but Jazzy doesn’t make the time. Instead, she focuses on cycling—and hides her lack of progress from her family. But will Jazzy learn to fly in time for the upcoming supermoon parade, or will she be outed as a bad witch? In this series opener, readers meet Jazzy, who, along with her two loving mothers and grandmother, presents as Black. Jazzy’s story is lighthearted but still explores deeper themes of being honest and finding your place. This graphic novel features lively, cartoon-style, full-color illustrations that accentuate the characters’ emotions and expressions. The color palette skews toward darker tones of charcoal, purple, and grayish green.
A comical, witchy, and sweetly affirming read. (how to make a besom and spore prints, mini comic, author’s note) (Graphic adventure. 7-10)Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781665922326
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
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
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after.
Drake has been selected by the king to serve as a Dragon Master, quite a change for an 8-year-old farmer boy.
The dragons are a secret, and the reason King Roland has them is a mystery, but what is clear is that the Dragon Stone has identified Drake as one of the rare few children who have a special connection with dragons and the ability to serve as a trainer. Drake’s dragon is a long brown creature with, at first, no particular talents that Drake can identify. He calls the dragon Worm. It isn’t long before Drake begins to realize he has a very strong connection with Worm and can share what seem to be his dragon’s thoughts. After one of the other Dragon Masters decides to illicitly take the dragons outside, disaster strikes. The cave they are passing through collapses, blocking the passageway, and then Worm’s special talent becomes evident. The first of a new series of early chapter books, this entry is sure to attract fans. Brief chapters, large print, lots of action, attractive illustrations in every spread, including a maplike panorama, an enviable protagonist—who wouldn’t want to be a Dragon Master?—all combine to make an entertaining read.
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-64624-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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