A wickedly funny ramble. With bunnies.
Horvath takes on the world of talking animals with all the absurdist, satirical panache fans have come to expect from the award-winning author.
The intrigue begins when fifth-grader Madeline’s hippie parents Mildred and Flo are kidnapped on Canada’s Hornby Island by a band of foxes in trench coats who have learned all about “hoomans” from studying sitcoms. The foxes don’t care about Mildred and Flo; they just urgently need the spacey couple to remember where Mildred’s Uncle Runyon lives, a government scientist who may be able to decipher the encrypted recipes needed to launch their enterprise: Fanny Fox’s Canned Rabbit Products and By-products. As the hyper-responsible Madeline contemplates her parents’ plight, she’s discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, empty nesters (and detectives) who are only too delighted to find a nice human girl who speaks fluent Bunny, even if her bottom is gigantic. The story of Madeline’s budding relationship with the refreshingly nurturing Bunnys and their joint endeavor to find Madeline’s hopeless parents propel the farcical adventure. Playful pokes at everything from Fox News (“Foxes are titans of industry”) to the glut of orphans in children’s books are often hilarious. A favorite of the splendid black-and-white illustrations shows Mr. Bunny in his 12-inch disco shoes that allow him to reach the pedals of his SmartCar.
A wickedly funny ramble. With bunnies. (Satiric mystery. 9-14)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-375-86755-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2011
Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at and references to children’s book titles, this solid, tightly plotted read...
When a lock-in becomes a reality game, 12-year-old Kyle Keeley and his friends use library resources to find their way out of Alexandriaville’s new public library.
The author of numerous mysteries for children and adults turns his hand to a puzzle adventure with great success. Starting with the premise that billionaire game-maker Luigi Lemoncello has donated a fortune to building a library in a town that went without for 12 years, Grabenstein cleverly uses the tools of board and video games—hints and tricks and escape hatches—to enhance this intricate and suspenseful story. Twelve 12-year-old winners of an essay contest get to be the first to see the new facility and, as a bonus, to play his new escape game. Lemoncello’s gratitude to the library of his childhood extends to providing a helpful holographic image of his 1968 librarian, but his modern version also includes changing video screens, touch-screen computers in the reading desks and an Electronic Learning Center as well as floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stretching up three stories. Although the characters, from gamer Kyle to schemer Charles Chiltington, are lightly developed, the benefits of pooling strengths to work together are clear.
Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at and references to children’s book titles, this solid, tightly plotted read is a winner for readers and game-players alike. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: June 25, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-87089-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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