Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Best Children's Books of 2012: Fantasy & Science Fiction (page 2)


Cover art for LEGENDS OF ZITA THE SPACEGIRL
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 4, 2012
by Ben Hatke, illustrated by Ben Hatke

"Imaginative and utterly bewitching. (Graphic science fiction. 9-12)"
Lovable Zita returns in a charmingly dashing interplanetary adventure to save yet another doomed planet from impending peril. Read full book review >
Cover art for INTO THE WOODS
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 1, 2012
by J. Torres, illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks

"Be prepared for young Sasquatch fans roaring for more. (Graphic fantasy. 6-11)"
Mom said there was magic in the woods…she probably didn't mean anything like this. Read full book review >
Cover art for SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 28, 2012

"Schlitz's prose is perfect in every stitch, and readers will savor each word. (Historical fantasy. 9-13)"
Two orphans, a witch and a girl who laughs at death: Each shares the lens of protagonist in Newbery winner Schlitz's fully satisfying gothic novel. Read full book review >
Cover art for CARDBOARD
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 1, 2012
by Doug TenNapel, illustrated by Doug TenNapel

"Utterly brilliant. (Graphic fantasy. 10 & up)"
An out-of-the-box story of golems, guys and guts. Read full book review >
Cover art for ON THE DAY I DIED
CHILDREN'S
Released: July 10, 2012

"Light on explicit grue but well endowed with macabre detail and leavening dashes of humor. (Horror/short stories. 10-13)"
Nine creepy tales told by dead teens and positively tailor-made for reading--or reading aloud--by flashlight. Read full book review >
Cover art for A GREYHOUND OF A GIRL
CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2012

"A warm, witty, exquisitely nuanced multigenerational story. (Fiction. 10-14)"
Twelve-year-old Mary O'Hara is surrounded by good-humored women…her mum at home, her mum's mum, who is dying in Dublin's Sacred Heart Hospital, and her mum's mum's mum, who has just materialized as a ghost on her street. Read full book review >