Comically delightful.
Young creature-seekers search for a troll in Lucey’s droll romp.
Convinced of the existence of magical creatures after an unexpected encounter at the library, an intrepid Black child named Jenny recruits detail-oriented Emiko (who’s cued Japanese American) and tall, chartreuse-skinned Brian to learn about the cryptids that may exist in ordinary Rockhurst. Together they form the Society of Creatures Real and Magical. Their inaugural quest: to meet a troll! Thanks to extensive library research, the friends look for anyone who may be hiding horns (Brian’s hats amusingly throw suspicion off him), navigating the city’s dense crowds and searching Mifune’s Market for trolls’ favorite drink, frog juice. After a detour to speak with Cool Ronan Sammy (a kid who claims to see trolls every day) leads to a frustratingly amusing dead end, the exasperated explorers try their luck at Trolden Park, where a hilarious revelation awaits. Full of zany jokes and clownish wit, Lucey’s latest features lovable characters whose fun quest will draw readers in. Throughout the trio’s adventures, Rockhurst and its diverse, madcap residents add marvelously to the tale’s somewhat fantastic bent, enhanced by artwork that boasts rich, luminous colors and portrays frenetic action. The book concludes with a mock-up detailing the society’s findings on trolls, an interview with “a local expert” (i.e., the author/illustrator), and hints of future installments.
Comically delightful. (Graphic adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781250851949
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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