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MARCY AND THE RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX

A wonderfully charming mixture of myth and fairy tale.

When her brave father is trapped inside the Sphinx, a fearful young girl must summon her courage to save him.

Marcy Brownstone’s father is a brave explorer who, in the previous volume, Arthur and the Golden Rope (2016), had exciting adventures based on Norse mythology. Harboring fears of the dark, Marcy worries she has not been imbued with the same fortitude as her father. When her father leaves on a quest to retrieve a magical book he believes will help her, he becomes trapped inside the Sphinx that holds it. Marcy must now gather up her resolve and carry out his rescue. This extrication is not without its challenges, as Marcy encounters larger-than-life Egyptian gods, including Thoth, Isis, and Ra. Weaving the theme of finding courage with a whimsical mix of Egyptian mythology, Todd-Stanton has constructed a remarkable world that both delights and edifies. The lush, immersive illustrations, with many full-page action sequences, are sure to enchant and envelop readers. Marcy’s white, heteronormative family gives a nod to conventional fairy-tale tropes with her nearly absent mother (who does make a fleeting cameo). However, Todd-Stanton weaves in a gentle feminist flourish as timid Marcy overcomes her fears to save her father and creates a thoughtfully distinctive take on the father-daughter relationship.

A wonderfully charming mixture of myth and fairy tale. (Picture book. 4-10)

Pub Date: April 3, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-911171-19-5

Page Count: 56

Publisher: Flying Eye Books

Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018

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HIAWATHA AND THE PEACEMAKER

Expressive, handsome, and well-documented.

Robertson, widely known for his work in the legendary group The Band, crafts a legend-based tale about the unification of warring tribes into what would become known as the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy.

As a boy, Robertson, of Mohawk and Cayuga heritage, heard an elder tell this story, which may date from the 14th century. It places Hiawatha, a Mohawk, into fresh cultural context and corrects Longfellow. After his family is killed in a raid by the dreaded Onodaga chief, Tadodaho, Hiawatha retreats in bereft solitude. A man in a glowing white stone canoe approaches. Stuttering softly, he shares his message of peace and reconciliation with Hiawatha, asking him to help carry and amplify this message during visits to warring tribes. The pair travels in succession to the Mohawk, Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida, and Onondaga tribes. With difficulty, they overcome resistance, laying groundwork for what would become, by 1722, the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. Hiawatha’s first-person narration reveals his own transformation, from grief-stricken vengeance to self-forgiveness, from hatred to joy. Shannon adopts a palette of deep browns, red-golds, and blue-grays, with hints of green. Figures are broad-backed, solemn, and heroically posed. Tadodaho, disfigured by evil, is depicted as a scaly wretch, snakes entwined in his hair. Hiawatha prepares a curative medicine for him; Shannon portrays his recovery and eventual transmogrification as an eagle.

Expressive, handsome, and well-documented. (historical note, acknowledgments, author’s note) (Picture book/folk tale. 5-10)

Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4197-1220-3

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Abrams

Review Posted Online: May 5, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015

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THE STONE OF FIRE

From the Cavemice series , Vol. 1

Warp back in time for a prehistoric spinoff adventure with Geronimo Stilton’s ancestor, Geronimo Stiltonoot, in Old Mouse City.

Readers will find Geronimo Stiltonoot a familiar character, outfitted differently from descendant Stilton yet still running a newspaper and having wild adventures. In this introduction to prehistoric mouse life, someone has stolen the most powerful and important artifact housed by the Old Mouse City Mouseum: the Stone of Fire. It’s up to Stiltonoot and his fellow sleuth and friend, Hercule Poirat, to uncover not only the theft, but a dangerous plot that jeopardizes all of Old Mouse City. As stand-ins for the rest of the Stilton cast, Stiltonoot has in common with Stilton a cousin named Trap, a sister named Thea and a nephew named Benjamin. The slapstick comedy and design, busy with type changes and color, will be familiar for Stilton readers. The world is fictionalized for comedic effect, featuring funny uses for dinosaurs and cheeky references to how far back in time they are, with only the occasional sidebar that presents facts. The story takes a bit long to get started, spending a lot of time reiterating the worldbuilding information laid out before the first chapter. But once it does start, it is an adventure Stilton readers will enjoy. Geronimo Stiltonoot has the right combination of familiarity and newness to satisfy Stilton fans. (Fiction. 6-10)

 

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-545-44774-4

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012

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