Though the storyline’s lacking, the bold art—shivery, cute, exciting—will keep pages turning.
A shuttered amusement park holds a portal to its magical mirror world.
In the abandoned theme park Adventure Kingdom, a boy hoping to livestream his exploits runs into a girl on the broken-down carousel. Clark and Karoline each carry half of an old coin, given to them years ago by Karoline’s grandad, who ran the park before he vanished. When the kids meet, their half coins pull them through a portal into the original Adventure Kingdom, a magical amusement park full of exciting creatures. Like the mundane world’s park, the magical one has fallen on hard times, and Clark and Karoline must flee the brutish minions of the mysterious Iron King. The tale relies extensively on genre shorthand, and rarely do the emotional beats have any payoff. Why does Clark have such a strong reaction to betrayal, for example, and how is it connected to his parents? Not only do readers never learn, but it’s irrelevant to his action-oriented character arc. The hook isn’t in the sketched outline of a plot but in the appealing illustrations. The comic panels are bright, well composed, and dynamic, making excellent use of gutters and color (courtesy ofMaruno). Adorable animate fuzzballs, a looming fortunetelling robot, and various talking animals people the Adventure Kingdom. The motivations of the Iron King may be thinly drawn, but his illustrated megalomania is gleefully intimidating. Karoline presents White; Clark has olive skin.
Though the storyline’s lacking, the bold art—shivery, cute, exciting—will keep pages turning. (Graphic fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5248-7078-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale.
After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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