A lyrical look at a horrific time; an appeal to the necessity of remembering.
An old man called the Wren because of the beautiful music he makes must give up his beloved instrument during the Nazi occupation of his Polish town.
This Holocaust fable keeps its true subject understated. Hitler is simply called the Tyrant, and all the audience knows is that it was a dark time. Lewis’ poetic phrases collide with harsh realities. “Food and clothing were strictly rationed. Stores that once provided necessities were boarded up.…The town shriveled up like a rose without rain.” For the Wren, the most devastating day is the one when the Tyrant’s guards collect the town’s musical instruments. Before giving his pear-shaped hurdy-gurdy away, he pleads for one more song. The crowd rises up and sings as one. The Wren is taken away, never to be seen again. Luckily, the Wren’s student, a girl with fiery red hair called the Sparrow, saves the instrument, and it is passed on to future generations with a secret note tucked inside, so the music will continue and no one will ever forget. Nayberg’s stylized brush strokes initially take tones of brown and drear, but they warm with hope toward the end. The textured creases and cracks of paint echo the deliberate folds of the letter that holds such importance.
A lyrical look at a horrific time; an appeal to the necessity of remembering. (afterword) (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4677-1951-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
Fantasy training wheels for chapter-book readers.
Elliot’s first day of school turns out to be more than he bargained for.
Elliot Eisner—skinny and pale with curly brown hair—is a bit nervous about being the new kid. Thankfully, he hits it off with fellow new student, “punk rock”–looking Uchenna Devereaux, a black girl with twists (though they actually look like dreads in Aly’s illustrations). On a first-day field trip to New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, the pair investigates a noise in the trees. The cause? A Jersey Devil: a blue-furred, red-bellied and -winged mythical creature that looks like “a tiny dragon” with cloven hooves, like a deer’s, on its hind feet. Unwittingly, the duo bonds with the creature by feeding it, and it later follows them back to the bus. Unsurprisingly, they lose the creature (which they alternately nickname Jersey and Bonechewer), which forces them to go to their intimidating, decidedly odd teacher, Peruvian Professor Fauna, for help in recovering it. The book closes with Professor Fauna revealing the truth—he heads a secret organization committed to protecting mythical creatures—and inviting the children to join, a neat setup for what is obviously intended to be a series. The predictable plot is geared to newly independent readers who are not yet ready for the usual heft of contemporary fantasies. A brief history lesson given by a mixed-race associate of Fauna’s in which she compares herself to the American “melting pot” manages to come across as simultaneously corrective and appropriative.
Fantasy training wheels for chapter-book readers. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7352-3170-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Warp back in time for a prehistoric spinoff adventure with Geronimo Stilton’s ancestor, Geronimo Stiltonoot, in Old Mouse City.
Readers will find Geronimo Stiltonoot a familiar character, outfitted differently from descendant Stilton yet still running a newspaper and having wild adventures. In this introduction to prehistoric mouse life, someone has stolen the most powerful and important artifact housed by the Old Mouse City Mouseum: the Stone of Fire. It’s up to Stiltonoot and his fellow sleuth and friend, Hercule Poirat, to uncover not only the theft, but a dangerous plot that jeopardizes all of Old Mouse City. As stand-ins for the rest of the Stilton cast, Stiltonoot has in common with Stilton a cousin named Trap, a sister named Thea and a nephew named Benjamin. The slapstick comedy and design, busy with type changes and color, will be familiar for Stilton readers. The world is fictionalized for comedic effect, featuring funny uses for dinosaurs and cheeky references to how far back in time they are, with only the occasional sidebar that presents facts. The story takes a bit long to get started, spending a lot of time reiterating the worldbuilding information laid out before the first chapter. But once it does start, it is an adventure Stilton readers will enjoy. Geronimo Stiltonoot has the right combination of familiarity and newness to satisfy Stilton fans. (Fiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-44774-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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