Thin sauce over a half-baked side dish.
Junior versions of Thor, Sif, and Loki set out for the land of the Dwarves, with a young bard and a battle kitten in attendance.
With references to Xemnu from the Magic Planet to further cement its connection to the Marvel Universe, this series kickoff assembles a cast of juvenile Norse godlets and hangers-on to, mostly, get each other into and out of jams after the vainglorious god of thunder decides that the only way to impress his one-eyed dad is to snatch a mysterious artifact from the Dwarves. So it’s off to Nidavellir for mighty battles with titanic robots and dwarf lord Brokkr Warcrafter (wielding a magic hammer called, imaginatively, Hammr). Meanwhile, as Thor literally fulminates when he doesn’t get his way, and Sif fumes at being rewarded for her years of martial training by being assigned as his minder, shape-shifting trickster Loki makes suspiciously friendly overtures to Thor’s sidekick, self-described “Bard of Bards,” Fandral. Even though the chapter heads come with cues, it’s hard to keep the multiple narrators distinct, except perhaps Wygul, Sif’s new feline companion who chimes in at the close. The gags, too, come off as perfunctory, and the story, which is framed in short chapters festooned with frenetic scenes of outsized monsters and costumed kids in stylized postures, barely gets underway before cutting off abruptly. Most characters are drawn with light skin other than Heimdall, Bifrost’s gatekeeper.
Thin sauce over a half-baked side dish. (Adventure. 7-10)Pub Date: July 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781368074353
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Marvel Press
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after.
Drake has been selected by the king to serve as a Dragon Master, quite a change for an 8-year-old farmer boy.
The dragons are a secret, and the reason King Roland has them is a mystery, but what is clear is that the Dragon Stone has identified Drake as one of the rare few children who have a special connection with dragons and the ability to serve as a trainer. Drake’s dragon is a long brown creature with, at first, no particular talents that Drake can identify. He calls the dragon Worm. It isn’t long before Drake begins to realize he has a very strong connection with Worm and can share what seem to be his dragon’s thoughts. After one of the other Dragon Masters decides to illicitly take the dragons outside, disaster strikes. The cave they are passing through collapses, blocking the passageway, and then Worm’s special talent becomes evident. The first of a new series of early chapter books, this entry is sure to attract fans. Brief chapters, large print, lots of action, attractive illustrations in every spread, including a maplike panorama, an enviable protagonist—who wouldn’t want to be a Dragon Master?—all combine to make an entertaining read.
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-64624-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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