A sugar-sweet burst of sunshine for new readers.
Kitty rejuvenates an aging movie theater by converting it to a combination movie house and restaurant.
When Kitty Sweet Tooth—a purple cat who loves sweets and (fortunately) visiting the dentist—learns that Pop-Pop’s considering selling his movie theater, she begs him not to and pitches screenings with paired movies and sweets. He gives her one month as manager to try it out. To help with the culinary confections, Kitty recruits Dr. Battina (a pink bat—not a mad scientist, just misunderstood) and her collaborator, a green-skinned humanoid witch named Walter. After spiffing the theater up (with both hard work and magic), the team holds a showing each week, the food going wrong in a mild way (usually resulting in large quantities of sweets supersizing to flood the theater) and the heroes having to think quickly (and get extra mouths) to fix it. Though the storyline is repetitive and low-stakes, the vibrant, full-color palette and the silly dessert action (and parody puns for adults reading along—Planet of the Crepes, anyone?) result in stress-free escapism for sensitive readers. The art’s cartoony and clear, showing off a wide variety of cutely rounded animals, and it uses occasional breaks from panels for strategic (and charming) double-page spreads. After their trial month of successes, Pop-Pop decides to keep the theater; as a sequel hook, Kitty announces she’ll make a movie of her own. Instructions for DIY rock candy close the experience.
A sugar-sweet burst of sunshine for new readers. (Graphic fantasy. 5-10)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-19677-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
Plenty of silly hijinks to keep the pages turning; readers will find this a gas.
After all the kittens in the world are abducted, it’s domesticated animal superheroes to the rescue!
Reluctantly recruited into the eXpets after driving two would-be burglars into nauseated submission with superpowered blasts of doggy gas from both ends, peaceable Bosco finds himself renamed Stanky Dog. Soon, he’s headed on a rescue mission to the moon with tiny but fierce Ginormous Gerbil, Wonder Guppy, and like stars of the S&SCU, or Simon & Schuster Comics Universe (not to be confused with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if you please). With the innuendo extending even into chapter heads (“Doggie Don’t or Doggie Do?”), Tatulli’s loudly hued panes fill up with frenetic action and rapid-fire repartee as the heroes struggle to prevent archnemesis the Skunk and his tentacled minion, Captain Calamari, from digging up the ancient Collar of Power that would force all humans to become pets and vice versa. Can the furry fighters save the day—not to mention an ocean of wide-eyed, intensely cute kitties who were kidnapped to do lunar excavation? (“It’s actually a giant ball of kitty litter! And who knows more about digging through kitty litter than—kitties?”) Cue the slogan—“eXpets exceed expectations!”—on the way to a triumphant finish featuring a round of parties and parades back on Earth, plus a twist or two to set up future episodes.
Plenty of silly hijinks to keep the pages turning; readers will find this a gas. (Graphic adventure. 7-10)Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781665914871
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
This well-paced story will keep the attention of even reluctant readers with its commitment to accurately chronicling the...
This series' first entry introduces a courageous time-traveling golden retriever on the Oregon Trail.
While digging for a bone in his backyard, Ranger discovers a first-aid kit. Mysteriously imbued with time-travel properties, the kit sends Ranger back in time to Independence, Missouri—a starting point for the Oregon Trail—where Sam Abbott is searching for his little sister. Though he loves chasing squirrels too much to pass his search-and-rescue training, Ranger, who can understand human speech, doesn’t pay distractions any mind as he follows his training to find little Amelia. His heroics earn him a place with the Abbott family on their journey, and he proves himself both remarkable and useful through many crises (like a buffalo stampede, sickness and river rapids). Though Ranger grows to love the Abbotts, he’s constantly on the lookout and longing for Luke, his boy in the future. In the end, the kit takes Ranger back home, though its nature remains an enigma. The third-person narration expertly balances Ranger’s thoughts between the appropriately doglike (squirrels! bacon!) and the heroic (Ranger’s drive to find and protect).
This well-paced story will keep the attention of even reluctant readers with its commitment to accurately chronicling the excitement and danger of the Oregon Trail. Whom will Ranger save next? (Adventure. 5-9)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-63915-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
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