Although the language is a bit stilted and the message far from subtle, this Danish translation, first in a four-part...
When Leiv, a Viking boy, is shipwrecked near Greenland, two Inuit siblings, Apuluk and Narua, rescue him and eventually bring him to their community.
In 1000 C.E., Norsemen traveled to Greenland, but there were few contacts with the Inuit community. At first, the Inuits want nothing to do with Leiv, but because he demonstrates that he knows some of their language and seems peaceful, they accept him. This is a harsh adventure tale: Leiv loses several toes due to frostbite, and Apuluk is attacked by a polar bear. From its opening scene of a blood feud started by Leiv’s father’s killing and the rigors of Arctic life, the characters act as adults despite their adolescent ages. The Inuit life is idealized, in comparison to the warlike, possession-hungry Norse culture. Narua is portrayed as a fearless young woman, but then she only wants a needle when the three young people find the Norse settlement near the end. Is Riel’s message a little heavy? Heavily illustrated with full-page bold, stylized watercolors, some double-page spreads and occasional vignettes, this transitional chapter book employs a large font and very generous white space.
Although the language is a bit stilted and the message far from subtle, this Danish translation, first in a four-part series, will appeal to those seeking adventure, strong friendship and survival stories at a lower reading level than usual . (Adventure. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-84686-335-6
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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A waggish tale with a serious (and timely) theme.
An age-old rivalry is reluctantly put aside when two young vacationers are lost in the wilderness.
Anthropomorphic—in body if definitely not behavior—Dogg Scout Oscar and pampered Molly Hissleton stray from their separate camps, meet by chance in a trackless magic forest, and almost immediately recognize that their only chance of survival, distasteful as the notion may be, lies in calling a truce. Patterson and Grabenstein really work the notion here that cooperation is better than prejudice founded on ignorance and habit, interspersing explicit exchanges on the topic while casting the squabbling pair with complementary abilities that come out as they face challenges ranging from finding food to escaping such predators as a mountain lion and a pack of vicious “weaselboars.” By the time they cross a wide river (on a raft steered by “Old Jim,” an otter whose homespun utterances are generally cribbed from Mark Twain—an uneasy reference) back to civilization, the two are BFFs. But can that friendship survive the return, with all the social and familial pressures to resume the old enmity? A climactic cage-match–style confrontation before a worked-up multispecies audience provides the answer. In the illustrations (not seen in finished form) López plops wide-eyed animal heads atop clothed, more or less human forms and adds dialogue balloons for punchlines.
A waggish tale with a serious (and timely) theme. (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-41156-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
Epic—in plot, not length—and as wise and wonderful as Gerald Morris’ Arthurian exploits.
Who needs dragons when there are Terrible Lizards to be fought?
Having recklessly boasted to King Arthur and the court that he’d slain 40 dragons, Sir Erec can hardly refuse when Merlin offers him more challenging foes…and so it is that in no time (so to speak), Erec, with bookish Sir Hector, the silent and enigmatic Black Knight, and blustering Sir Bors with his thin but doughty squire, Mel, in tow, are hewing away at fearsome creatures sporting natural armor and weapons every bit as effective as knightly ones. Happily, while all the glorious mashing and bashing leads to awesome feats aplenty—who would suspect that a ravening T. Rex could be decked by a well-placed punch to the jaw?—when the dust settles neither bloodshed nor permanent injury has been dealt to either side. Better yet, not even the stunning revelation that two of the Three Stooges–style bumblers aren’t what they seem (“Anyone else here a girl?”) keeps the questers from developing into a well-knit team capable of repeatedly saving one another’s bacon. Phelan endows the all-white human cast with finely drawn, eloquently expressive faces but otherwise works in a loose, movement-filled style, pitting his clanking crew against an almost nonstop onslaught of toothy monsters in a monochrome mix of single scenes and occasional wordless sequential panels.
Epic—in plot, not length—and as wise and wonderful as Gerald Morris’ Arthurian exploits. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-268623-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
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