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OTTOLINE AND THE PURPLE FOX

From the Ottoline series , Vol. 4

Mannered but pleasantly peculiar.

In her fourth adventure a young sleuth makes new friends both human and otherwise, organizes a costume party, and fosters a romance.

At the invitation of a nattily clad fox with purple fur who has turned one of her elegant apartment building’s rubbish bins into comfortable digs of his own, Ottoline Brown takes an “Urban Safari” that introduces her to her city’s nocturnal animal residents. These range from meerkats popping out of manholes, herds of tiny zebras, and blue flamingos roosting on the public library’s roof to the Crimson Vixen, a street poet who works as the fox’s assistant but is too shy to show that she has feelings for him. Having learned this last at the party, Ottoline and her silent, hairy companion, Mr. Munroe, organize a talent show that culminates in triumph with the vulpine couple engaging in an intimate (wait for it) foxtrot. As in previous episodes, this fey tale is related in a mix of short narrative passages with many fantastically meticulous line drawings featuring bold monochrome highlights (purple, here) and gracefully posed figures in finely detailed garb and surroundings. Ottoline heads a large cast of friends and housekeepers that is less diverse of race and ethnicity than of species, but, bearing as she does a distinct resemblance to Eloise in her upper-class, parent-free lifestyle, she continues to exhibit appealing self-confidence no matter how odd or surreal the situation. Riddell twice provides folding directions for a paper “Fancy Dress Fortune Teller” tucked into a rear pocket.

Mannered but pleasantly peculiar. (Graphic fantasy. 10-12)

Pub Date: April 1, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-4472-7792-7

Page Count: 193

Publisher: Macmillan UK/Trafalgar

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018

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DELPHINE AND THE DARK THREAD

From the Delphine series , Vol. 2

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

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DELPHINE AND THE SILVER NEEDLE

From the Delphine series , Vol. 1

A charming series opener.

A foundling mouse sets out to uncover the mystery of her origins and of the magical needle sized for humans that was left with her.

Delphine’s travels begin with a summons to the palace, where her growing reputation as a brilliant seamstress commands an order for a ball gown for Princess Petits-Oiseaux—and also gives her a chance to discover exciting hints about a vanished order of needle-wielding magic mice known as the Threaded and of an ancient war with the rats. Meanwhile, no sooner does Midnight, cruel king of the rats, learn that the needle they have been seeking for a century has been found than said old war suddenly heats up and turns into a deadly chase. Also meanwhile, only barely noticed by the animal cast but sure to snag readers’ attention, certain events involving another seamstress, a pumpkin coach, a ball, a prince, and a glass slipper are happening above the floorboards in the parallel human world. That isn’t the only sly touch in this bibbidi bobbidi debut, which is rich in clearly delineated character types, features plenty of brisk action, and is also, overall, more than a bit reminiscent in tone and setting to Brian Jacques’ Redwall series (though with more focus on fashion than food). While this volume is mostly setup, heroes and villains alike end up on their marks, and plenty of loose ends remain to stitch up later.

A charming series opener. (Animal fantasy. 10-12)

Pub Date: March 2, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-368-04802-6

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021

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