Parents hoping to take their kids on fishing trips will find some fun, rhyming encouragement here.
A clever fish narrates this playful, picture-book ode to the “game” of fishing.
Walter the Wily Walleye lives in a lake, “waiting for you to catch me, a game I play called fishing.” He describes his own talents—including his great night vision, which helps him catch minnows—as well as offering readers advice on how to fish. Although Walter acknowledges that he loves to hide from anyone who’s fishing, he prefers it when children try to catch him, because he likes their laughter. Debut author Allen’s smoothly rhyming prose plays with the idea of schools of fish being places of learning where pupils are taught not to take food from strangers; however, this contradicts Walter’s request for children to bring him minnows or worms. The rhymes also introduce new vocabulary words for emerging readers (“elusive,” “wily”). Alberts creates images of realistic-looking fish with human characteristics; in one dynamic image, Walter grabs onto a child’s line with his fin, tricking the boy into thinking Walter is hooked. Pale-skinned, mostly male human anglers appear, and some of the fish feature overdone lipstick and eyeshadow as gender indicators. Allen also delicately avoids revealing what would happen to Walter if he were actually hooked.
Parents hoping to take their kids on fishing trips will find some fun, rhyming encouragement here.Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-692-10292-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Fishing Quest Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center.
Armed only with her magical sewing needle, foundling mouse Delphine sets out to confront the cruel rat king in this duology closer.
As vicious rat armies pillage the mouse realms in search of her and her pointy, long-hidden treasure, Delphine finds herself waging an inner war that parallels the outer one. According to dusty documents and other reputable sources, the needle’s good powers can be perverted, but she sees no other way except killing to stop evil rat King Midnight. While struggling with a grim determination to go over to the dark side that sets her at odds with her own fundamentally loving nature, Delphine threads her way along with loyal allies past various scrapes—only to come, climactically, face to face with not only her nemesis, but her own past. Moon stitches in flashbacks to fill out the details of a tragic old love triangle that reaches its fruition here and sews her tale up with a return to Château Desjardins just in time for Cinderella’s wedding and a celebratory rodentine ball in the chandelier overhead, and she leaves a fringe of epilogue hinting at further installments to come.
Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center. (secret codes) (Animal fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-04833-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A satisfying, winning read.
Nick Hall is a bright eighth-grader who would rather do anything other than pay attention in class.
Instead he daydreams about soccer, a girl he likes, and an upcoming soccer tournament. His linguistics-professor father carefully watches his educational progress, requiring extra reading and word study, much to Nick’s chagrin and protest. Fortunately, his best friend, Coby, shares his passion for soccer—and, sadly, the unwanted attention of twin bullies in their school. Nick senses something is going on with his parents, but their announcement that they are separating is an unexpected blow: “it’s like a bombshell / drops / right in the center / of your heart / and it splatters / all across your life.” The stress leads to counseling, and his life is further complicated by injury and emergency surgery. His soccer dream derailed, Nick turns to the books he has avoided and finds more than he expected. Alexander’s highly anticipated follow-up to Newbery-winning The Crossover is a reflective narrative, with little of the first book’s explosive energy. What the mostly free-verse novel does have is a likable protagonist, great wordplay, solid teen and adult secondary characters, and a clear picture of the challenges young people face when self-identity clashes with parental expectations. The soccer scenes are vivid and will make readers wish for more, but the depiction of Nick as he unlocks his inner reader is smooth and believable.
A satisfying, winning read. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-57098-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
