Clever, funny, and worth discussing.
A space mission has a surprising outcome.
The title page of this delightful English import portrays a familiar scene: the ground crew clustered around their screens at the launch of a new space expedition. But Savage—creator of two previous tongue-in-cheek ocean searches, beginning with The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish (2023)—offers an artful twist as she sends her explorers into space. Headed by pale-skinned Commander Julia, the bored and homesick crew of Mission Star Drifter have been searching for life in the universe for 10 long years before finally landing on what seems to be yet another deserted planet. As the crew fan out after their landing to explore, creatures living underground are fully aware of the earthlings’ presence and track their movements, making first contact with the ship’s dog, Khan. There’s such joy in this world that the crew decides to stay. As in previous titles, Savage’s graceful ink-and-watercolor illustrations, with their delicate washes of color, are filled with enchanting details, like the lightly anthropomorphized spaceship, which appears by turn nervous and, by book’s end, content. Savage’s witty text often contrasts with her images as readers realize that this “desolate wasteland” is anything but—a rather sophisticated commentary on the dangers of making assumptions. The Mission Star Drifter is helmed by a woman and staffed by a diverse crew, sending a subtle yet potent message that science and space exploration are for everyone.
Clever, funny, and worth discussing. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781536247497
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
A sweet, if oft-told, story.
A plush toy rabbit bonds with a boy and watches him grow into adulthood.
The boy receives the blue bunny for his birthday and immediately becomes attached to it. Unbeknownst to him, the ungendered bunny is sentient; it engages in dialogue with fellow toys, giving readers insight into its thoughts. The bunny's goal is to have grand adventures when the boy grows up and no longer needs its company. The boy spends many years playing imaginatively with the bunny, holding it close during both joyous and sorrowful times and taking it along on family trips. As a young man, he marries, starts a family, and hands over the beloved toy to his toddler-aged child in a crib. The bunny's epiphany—that he does not need to wait for great adventures since all his dreams have already come true in the boy's company—is explicitly stated in the lengthy text, which is in many ways similar to The Velveteen Rabbit (1922). The illustrations, which look hand-painted but were digitally created, are moderately sentimental with an impressionistic dreaminess (one illustration even includes a bunny-shaped cloud in the sky) and a warm glow throughout. The depiction of a teenage male openly displaying his emotions—hugging his beloved childhood toy for example—is refreshing. All human characters present as White expect for one of the boy’s friends who is Black.
A sweet, if oft-told, story. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72825-448-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
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