Step aside, Paul Bunyan, Hals Halson has come to challenge you as the “greatest lumberjack in North America.” When Paul suggests that instead of fighting they work as a team, Hals responds by attacking, first trying to wrestle (“That tickles,” Paul says), then kicking him, then throwing him over his shoulder and finally charging headfirst into Paul’s stomach—and the impact is so strong that all the trees for five miles lose their leaves. Every time Hals tries to harm him, Paul brushes his efforts aside. In the end, Paul waits for him to revive and hands him some fresh biscuits. Hals groans and stands up, “How’d you like to hire the SECOND best lumberjack in North America?” And so a “tall” tale of a strange friendship is born. The rustic, rough-hewn illustrations are bold, with a sculpted look that plays up the combatants’ brawn and their outsized proportions; Babe is a vibrant, glowing blue. The author’s note refers to the growth of Paul Bunyan tales but makes no mention of her source for Hals Halson, who is a far-flung character not found in most children’s books about Bunyan, if any. That probably won’t matter to kids, who will assume he’s made-up, just like Paul. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8075-6367-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
A gentle adventure that sets the stage for future quests.
A lonely prince gains a friend for a quest to find a missing jewel.
Prince Lucas of Wrenly has everything a boy could possibly want—except a friend. His father has forbidden him to play with the village children for reasons of propriety. Adventure-seeking Lucas acquires peasant clothes to masquerade as a commoner and make friends, but he is caught out. His mother, the queen, persuades the king to allow him one friend: Clara, the daughter of her personal dressmaker. When the queen’s prized emerald pendant goes missing, Lucas and Clara set off to find it. They follow the jewel as it changes hands, interviewing each temporary owner. Their adventure cleverly introduces the series’ world and peoples, taking the children to the fairy island of Primlox, the trolls’ home of Burth, the wizard island of Hobsgrove and finally Mermaid’s Cove. By befriending the mermaids, Lucas and Clara finally recover the jewel. In thanks, the king gives Clara a horse of her own so that she may ride with Lucas on their future adventures. The third-person narration is generally unobtrusive, allowing the characters to take center stage. The charming, medieval-flavored illustrations set the fairy-tale scene and take up enough page space that new and reluctant readers won’t be overwhelmed by text.
A gentle adventure that sets the stage for future quests. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-9691-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts.
Can knightly deeds bring together a feathered odd couple who are on opposite daily schedules?
Having won over a dragon (and millions of fans) in the Caldecott Honor–winning Knight Owl (2022), the fierce yet impossibly cute nocturnal, armor-clad owlet faces a new challenge—sleep deprivation—in the wake of taking on Early Bird, a trainee who rises with the sun and chatters interminably: “I made pancakes! Do you like pancakes? I love pancakes! Where’s the syrup?” It’s enough to test the patience of even the knightliest of owls, and eventually Knight Owl explodes in anger. But although Early Bird is even smaller than her mentor, she turns out to be just as determined to achieve knighthood. After he tells her to leave, she acquits herself so nobly in a climactic encounter with a pack of wolves that she earns a place at the castle. Denise proves a dab hand at depicting genuinely slinky, scary wolves as well as slipping cheerfully anachronistic newspapers and other sight gags into his realistically wrought medieval settings to underscore the tale’s tongue-in-cheek tone. Better yet, a final view of the doughty duo sitting down together to a lavish pancake breakfast/dinner at dusk ends the episode in a sweet rush of syrup and bonhomie.
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316564526
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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