Although Oscar successfully resolves his bully problem and his clumsiness, the draw here is the magic, not the somewhat...
Chronically clumsy Oscar presents an easy target for bullies—until he discovers a magical anti-gravity solution.
After curiously following a raccoon over a hill, Oscar stumbles upon an overgrown, abandoned caboose that was evidently once the traveling headquarters of an old-time–y huckster named Dr. Oopsie. Inside he find bottles of a solution that, when applied, counteracts gravity—but only until it dries. This gives him and his best friend, Asha, the opportunity to do amazing things: spinning through the air, easily climbing tall trees, and, best of all, flying around clinging to the blades of a ceiling fan. But the anti-gravity solution can be dangerous, too, since it wears off abruptly. After Oscar and Asha discover local bullies vandalizing the caboose, Oscar angrily drenches the lead bully with anti-gravity solution then allows him to float away, leaving Asha and a guilty-feeling Oscar to explore (and didactically explain) the difference between bullies and “not-mean” kids. Bonet’s cartoonlike cover art and a pair of interior illustrations effectively play up a forbidding setting for the caboose. In spite of ceiling-fan fun, Peterson never fully limns the enchanting potential of anti-gravity applications. The conclusion hints at a sequel, which readers will hope comes with a more substantial dose of magic.
Although Oscar successfully resolves his bully problem and his clumsiness, the draw here is the magic, not the somewhat bromidic bibliotherapy. (Fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62370-244-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to...
A group of talking farm animals catches wind of the farm owner’s intention to burn the barn (with them in it) for insurance money and hatches a plan to flee.
Bond begins briskly—within the first 10 pages, barn cat Burdock has overheard Dewey Baxter’s nefarious plan, and by Page 17, all of the farm animals have been introduced and Burdock is sharing the terrifying news. Grady, Dewey’s (ever-so-slightly) more principled brother, refuses to go along, but instead of standing his ground, he simply disappears. This leaves the animals to fend for themselves. They do so by relying on their individual strengths and one another. Their talents and personalities match their species, bringing an element of realism to balance the fantasy elements. However, nothing can truly compensate for the bland horror of the premise. Not the growing sense of family among the animals, the serendipitous intervention of an unknown inhabitant of the barn, nor the convenient discovery of an alternate home. Meanwhile, Bond’s black-and-white drawings, justly compared to those of Garth Williams, amplify the sense of dissonance. Charming vignettes and single- and double-page illustrations create a pastoral world into which the threat of large-scale violence comes as a shock.
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to ponder the awkward coincidences that propel the plot. (Animal fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-33217-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
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