A delightfully goofy ghost story.
An aspiring young journalist finds her big scoop in a dilapidated chicken coop.
To 10-year-old Florence Fortescue, urban living is “awesome”—delectable street food, tiny dogs, quirky neighbors, and, most importantly, Jupiter Lee, her best friend, who works with her on their gossip magazine, The Scuttlebutt. Sadly, Florence’s family is moving to the country, to a smelly old house, with no friends, no busy streets, and an abandoned chicken coop out back. But observant Florence soon spots chicken tracks in the dirt (though no one else can see them), just as Ms. Penrose, her crotchety old neighbor, swears ominously that “there haven’t been chickens here for fifty years.” Florence’s curiosity gets the best of her, and she finds herself gobbling up a glowing ghost egg she discovers in the coop in the dead of night. The next morning, she sees spectral poultry everywhere! Florence’s forays into the world of feathery phantoms soon become the stuff of snappy Scuttlebutt headlines—“TERROR IN THE HAUNTED COOP!” “Ms. PENROSE Has a SECRET PAST!”—and with Florence serving as the sole storyteller surrounded by disbelieving grown-ups, Rule’s narrative depends heavily on her youthful flair for the dramatic. Dreidemy’s scribbly, cartoonish illustrations emphasize the whimsical weirdness of Florence’s story, and the high-energy antics she gets scrambled up in will leave readers hungry for more. Florence and her family have skin the white of the page.
A delightfully goofy ghost story. (Paranormal. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9781774889480
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2026
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic.
A loyal black kitten’s boy is under supernatural attack.
Eleven-month-old Nimbus loves Fletcher, the boy who nursed her back to health following life-threatening injuries. When Fletcher becomes curious about a strange jar and opens it, releasing a terrible goblin, loyal Nim protects Fletcher, taking heavy damage in the process. But Fletcher’s aunt, who’s caring for him over spring break, believes Nim attacked Fletcher and dumps her far from home. Rhett, a stylish rat with star quality, befriends injured Nim and leads her to a witch’s house. While the witch cares for Nim, the witch’s cats (maternal Fern, bookish Rochester, standoffish Bianca, and openly hostile Abraxas) teach Nim important cat skills. She also discovers she has a supernatural ability: In destroying one eye of the nightmare demon in the fight to protect Fletcher, Nim gained its “dream sight.” But she also learns it might come back for Fletcher, who no longer has Nim to protect him, posing a time-sensitive, high-stakes threat. Even though the witch’s home is nice and magic itself seems to be telling her to stay put, Nim wants to find a way back to Fletcher. As a hero, Nimbus is as gritty and determined as she is adorable. Tear-jerker moments explore pet abandonment—readers may want their own pets on hand to hug—all the way through the magical, action-packed finale. Fletcher and the witch read white.
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780062680372
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
