An occasionally confusing but engaging, adventure-filled fantasy.
Hunter’s (Lucky Horseshoes, 2012) colorful YA folk tale about a poor boy named Yubi who goes on a quest with a copper vessel, a sea urchin shell and a talking rat to save a princess.
Orphan boy Yubi, working in the lavender mill of the mythical kingdom of Lavendula, is chosen by the town’s old witch to give the ruling family’s daughter, Princess Anjali, a magic copper vase. When the princess goes missing the next day, the town elders throw the witch, Isabella, into the sea and burn her cave while seeking the one who gave the princess the copper vase. Before the witch’s cave is burned, the boy steals another copper vase, along with a magic sea urchin shell, and meets up with a magical talking blue-tailed rat named Alex as he escapes the town elders by going to sea. While on the ship, Yubi discovers that thugs, lead by Cross-Eyed Org, kidnapped the princess and sold her to the sultan on the order of the town elders, who seek to reign in her stead. The tale, told unevenly in varying styles, includes words that kids (and adults) are unlikely to know, e.g., “lokum.” A game called Fiasco, with its convoluted rules and odd lingo—“Tie for high,” “lost the trick”— may also baffle readers. A negative portrayal of gypsies as stereotypical greedy kidnappers and thieves further mars the storytelling: “One sly-eyed gypsy with a huge hooked nose hollered at the cornered pair, ‘We want your gold!’ ” Still, Yubi’s ability to escape harm and survive each action-packed chapter speeds the story along, as does the orphan’s bravery in surmounting obstacles, his kindly concern for all living things and his intention to rescue Princess Anjali. The magic copper vases, one of which turns into a flying saucer, and the talking rat, who is really more wizard than rodent, all add imagination and interest to the adventure.
An occasionally confusing but engaging, adventure-filled fantasy.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2011
ISBN: 978-1460931479
Page Count: 184
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 21, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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