Mostly purpose driven but with enough light touches to maintain the flow.
In this STEM-centric series kickoff, young rescue workers shrink down to microscopic size to repair a lion’s leaky heart valve.
Aimed at fledgling readers, this first episode sends young Viv and Sanjay into an ailing lion’s circulatory system to discuss the heart’s general functions while taping up a torn cardiac valve. Despite its stilted dialogue—“The lion needs our help.” “We will help the lion!”—the tale has a lively cast. Along with enjoying the interior exploits of these fantastic voyagers, audiences will have effortlessly absorbed a modest but fundamentally sound quantity of anatomical information by the time the two are sneezed out in globs of lion slime to regain their normal sizes. Mahaney follows suit by kitting Viv and Sanjay out in cool techno-suits with octopuslike robotic arms, while tucking several extremely simplified diagrams of a four-chambered heart and its surrounds into the blocky, pastel-hued cartoon illustrations. Viv’s and Sanjay’s faces are drawn with lighter and darker shades of brown. Sound messages are imparted, though they’re a bit heavy-handed: The lion exhibits “kindness” by playing with lion cubs (and, to be sure, by not eating his rescuers); following an appended summary of heart facts, Ruths invites readers to create an "I am kind" badge and to also "make someone else's day a little better" by doing a kind act. (This review was updated for factual accuracy.)
Mostly purpose driven but with enough light touches to maintain the flow. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781338894998
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A visually engaging but otherwise underwhelming take on a classic.
A retelling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, set in the Alaskan tundra.
Prolific picture-book author and illustrator Brett depicts Alice with short black hair, tan skin, and a fur-lined parka, while Lewis Carroll’s well-known characters are recast in new guises: The Cheshire Cat and Queen of Hearts appear as a Smilodon (saber-toothed cat) and snowy owl, respectively. Progressing at a rapid-fire pace, the narrative follows key moments of the original plot, including Alice’s fall down the rabbit hole (located within a glacier here), her tea party with the Hatter and the March Hare (this time, with the Old Prospector and the Varying Hare), and a scene where several playing cards paint the roses red (instead, the cotton grass) at the Queen’s behest. Characteristic of Brett’s illustrative style, each spread is packed with detail. Observant readers will find much to explore, from the well-worn playing cards that line each page to the intricate Alaskan birds and mammals featured at every turn. Still, the hectic rhythm of the story might lose youngsters, and its ho-hum text flattens some of Carroll’s whimsy. Adults may be disappointed that Brett has chosen to highlight only the area’s animals and colonial history (the Prospector hearkens back to Alaska’s history of colonial encroachment), with no explicit mention of the land’s rich Indigenous nations and cultures.
A visually engaging but otherwise underwhelming take on a classic. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593533888
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
A strong series start.
In a video game, a superpowered rabbit must rescue a singing dog that brings everyone happiness.
In the frame story, a brown-skinned human protagonist plays a video game on a handheld console evocative of the classic Nintendo Gameboy. The bulk of the book relates the game’s storyline: Animal Town is a peaceful place where everyone is delighted by Singing Dog, until the fun-hating King Viking (whose black-mustachioed, pink-skinned looks reference the Super Mario Brothers game series villain, Wario) uses his army of robots to abduct Singing Dog. To save Singing Dog—and fun—the animals send the fastest among them, Simon the Hedgehog, to get Super Rabbit Boy (who gains speed and jumping powers by eating special carrots) to save the day. The chapters take Super Rabbit Boy through video game levels, with classic, video game–style settings and enemies. Throughout the book, when the game’s player loses either a life in the game or the game entirely, the unnamed kid must choose to persevere and not give up. The storylines are differentiated by colorful art styles—cartoonish for the real world, 8-bit pixel-sprite–style for the game. The fast, repetitive plot uses basic, simple sentences and child-friendly objects of interest, such as lakes of lava, for children working on reading independence, while the nerdy in-jokes benefit adults reading with a child.
A strong series start. (Early reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-03472-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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