A fun choice for chapter-book readers who like legendary creatures.
The students of Class 4A end up in a vampire’s castle during a magical field trip.
Class 4A is no ordinary classroom. With Ms. Frogbottom and her magic map, there is never a dull moment. As this adventure opens, the kids are enjoying a night at science camp when a bat flies overhead. As the conversation inevitably turns to vampire bats and vampires, Ms. Frogbottom takes out her magic map to whisk them away on a memorable field trip. In a blink of an eye, the students find themselves in Transylvania. While at a cafe, they meet the groundskeeper of Bran Castle, the inspiration for the castle in Dracula. He offers them a special tour of the castle, which Ms. Frogbottom gladly accepts. Soon the kids meet Mr. Liliac, master of the castle, and that’s when things get really weird. Emma swears Mr. Liliac is a vampire because he had no reflection in the mirror—and then Ms. Frogbottom disappears….Narrated by fact-loving student Sofia, this third series installment reads like a chapter-book version of the Magic School Bus, introducing geography via local legends. More silly than scary, the story is a mixture of history, magic, and adventure. Laced throughout the text are both boxes with fast facts and black-and-white images. The students appear to be of different races, and Ms. Frogbottom is a woman of color.
A fun choice for chapter-book readers who like legendary creatures. (glossary) (Fantasy. 6-9)Pub Date: July 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5403-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Approachable and comfortably predictable.
A young ghost arrives at Scare School.
Unlike big sister Bella, late bloomer Bash has never been good at “all the GHOST STUFF.” Dad’s sure that Scare School is just what Bash needs. Bash isn’t so certain; he’s intimidated by his classmates and teachers. But he perks up when he meets his roommate, Itsy, a smart, welcoming spider, though he vows to steer clear of mean-spirited Vlad and Vicky. Still, the dreaded Creature Aptitude Test worries Bash. To pass, he must pass through solid objects and turn himself invisible—skills he struggles with. Bash doesn’t want to be kicked out of school, so he’ll have to buckle down. With Itsy’s help and encouragement from his classmates, Bash realizes he’s more capable than he thought. Written in first person from endearingly anxious Bash’s point of view, the book has a diarylike feel. The text is presented in a handwritten font, while grayscale cartoon illustrations are peppered throughout. The supportive, sincere friendship between Bash and Itsy is the most compelling part of the story. Letters between Bash and Bella shed further light on Bash’s personality and their relationship. Though the book’s takeaway—believe in yourself, and you can do anything—is a familiar one, it’s just what many children need…and who better to deliver the message than an adorably nervous ghost?
Approachable and comfortably predictable. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781665922098
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
A close encounter of the best kind.
Left behind when the space bus departs, a child discovers that the moon isn’t as lifeless as it looks.
While the rest of the space-suited class follows the teacher like ducklings, one laggard carrying crayons and a sketchbook sits down to draw our home planet floating overhead, falls asleep, and wakes to see the bus zooming off. The bright yellow bus, the gaggle of playful field-trippers, and even the dull gray boulders strewn over the equally dull gray lunar surface have a rounded solidity suggestive of Plasticine models in Hare’s wordless but cinematic scenes…as do the rubbery, one-eyed, dull gray creatures (think: those stress-busting dolls with ears that pop out when squeezed) that emerge from the regolith. The mutual shock lasts but a moment before the lunarians eagerly grab the proffered crayons to brighten the bland gray setting with silly designs. The creatures dive into the dust when the bus swoops back down but pop up to exchange goodbye waves with the errant child, who turns out to be an olive-skinned kid with a mop of brown hair last seen drawing one of their new friends with the one crayon—gray, of course—left in the box. Body language is expressive enough in this debut outing to make a verbal narrative superfluous.
A close encounter of the best kind. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4253-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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