Fans of the series will enjoy this latest entry.
A trio of heroes prove themselves yet again.
After a month of recharging in the village of Conklin, Fart, Moxie, and Pan are ready to get back to work, and they are soon contacted by the Great and Powerful Kevin for yet another ridiculous quest. This time, however, Pan is apprehensive of Kevin’s purpose for these magical artifacts and wants no part in his schemes—and her friends back her up. Until Kevin offers Pan something she cannot decline: a chance to see her deceased mother one more time. The brave trio—and TickTock, their phibling friend—venture to the highest peak of the Frostflung mountains to find the dragon Glacierbane and search his poop for a supercharged magical item. Along the way they meet pink-haired noble knight Seraphim and Sparkles, her talking spoonicorn (not to be mistaken for a unicorn). Fart doesn’t know if he’s jealous or if his instincts are correct, but something feels not quite right about them. Either way, hazardous happenings await as they battle shroomies, bots, and more, all the while learning to be better friends and making new ones. Fart’s whimsical, first-person perspective thrusts readers into the fantastical Fourteen Realms as they follow his growth as a mage and friend. Although somewhat formulaic, the story is still an enjoyably amusing read that will keep readers immersed in its brisk pace. Final illustrations not seen.
Fans of the series will enjoy this latest entry. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-20644-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey.
Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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