Exciting, but not outstanding.
Five young dragonets find themselves destined to fulfill a prophecy that will end the war between the dragons.
Six years ago, the underground group Talons of Peace, determined to make the end of the war a reality, stole, bought and borrowed five eggs and began raising the young dragons in secret. Gentle-hearted Clay, the MudWing; sassy Tsunami, the SeaWing; bookish Starflight, the NightWing; loyal Sunny, the SandWing; and shy Glory, the RainWing, are the Dragonets of Destiny. After six long years in seclusion with only their history lessons and combat training for occupation and their harried minders for company, the five young dragons yearn to see what life is like beyond the thick stone walls of their cave. Escaping their prison is only a vague fantasy until the original prophet arrives and threatens the life of one of the dragonets. The five flee, only to be captured almost immediately by a ruthless dragon queen. Fast-paced and detailed, this first installment in a new adventure series is entertaining if not terribly original. Adult dragons are all cast as untrustworthy, cruel and selfish; only the young dragonets seem to have any depth and complexity. While expected, violent battle scenes seem at odds with the story of peace and quest for home. Nevertheless, this first outing has all of the key ingredients for a successful formula-fantasy series: hierarchical social structure, destiny, attributive names and a map.
Exciting, but not outstanding. (dragon taxonomy) (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: July 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-34918-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2012
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride.
Zipping back and forth in time atop outsized robo–bell bottoms, mad inventor Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) legs his way to center stage in this slightly less-labored continuation of episode 9.
The action commences after a rambling recap and a warning not to laugh or smile on pain of being forced to read Sarah Plain and Tall. Pilkey first sends his peevish protagonist back a short while to save the Earth (destroyed in the previous episode), then on to various prehistoric eras in pursuit of George, Harold and the Captain. It’s all pretty much an excuse for many butt jokes, dashes of off-color humor (“Tippy pressed the button on his Freezy-Beam 4000, causing it to rise from the depths of his Robo-Pants”), a lengthy wordless comic and two tussles in “Flip-o-rama.” Still, the chase kicks off an ice age, the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Big Bang (here the Big “Ka-Bloosh!”). It ends with a harrowing glimpse of what George and Harold would become if they decided to go straight. The author also chucks in a poopy-doo-doo song with musical notation (credited to Albert P. Einstein) and plenty of ink-and-wash cartoon illustrations to crank up the ongoing frenzy.
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-17536-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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