A witty, engaging heroine sparkles in this series opener.
In this French import, Dagfrid learns the grass is always greener on the other island.
Dagfrid’s not a fan of Viking girlhood—she’s not into the double bun hairstyle; she dislikes the “superlong dress” that she’s supposed to wear; and, worse, she hates everything about fish, a staple on their island. She modifies the customs to her liking—she keeps her hair in practical braids and sews herself a pair of pants—and then has her brother teach her to build a boat (in exchange for showing him how to sew). Then, Dagfrid sets sail in hopes of finding “something to do somewhere besides eating fish!” She discovers an island inhabited by Viking girls much like her, except they’re sick and tired of eating sheep and enduring the smell of sheep fat lamps. Dagfrid trades fishing and boat-building lessons for some sheep. Back home, her introduction of livestock adds variety to her people’s diet and opens the door for more practical, medium-length dresses (though she still prefers her pants). Dagfrid is a winning protagonist. Her charming first-person narration manages to slip in some historical information (e.g., turf houses) but generally plays up Viking tropes in a cartoonish way that’s calibrated for reader enjoyment. Expressive spot art is equally charming. All characters are White. Book 2 publishes simultaneously.
A witty, engaging heroine sparkles in this series opener. (Historical fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781646908042
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Arctis Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1965) upgrades to The Mice and the Rolls-Royce.
In Windsor Castle there sits a “dollhouse like no other,” replete with working plumbing, electricity, and even a full library of real, tiny books. Called Queen Mary’s Dollhouse, it also plays host to the Whiskers family, a clan of mice that has maintained the house for generations. Henry Whiskers and his cousin Jeremy get up to the usual high jinks young mice get up to, but when Henry’s little sister Isabel goes missing at the same time that the humans decide to clean the house up, the usually bookish big brother goes on the adventure of his life. Now Henry is driving cars, avoiding cats, escaping rats, and all before the upcoming mouse Masquerade. Like an extended version of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Two Bad Mice (1904), Priebe keeps this short chapter book constantly moving, with Duncan’s peppy art a cute capper. Oddly, the dollhouse itself plays only the smallest of roles in this story, and no factual information on the real Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House is included at the tale’s end (an opportunity lost).
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales. (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6575-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure.
It’s not truffles but doubloons that tickle this porcine wayfarer’s fancy.
Funke and Meyer make another foray into chapter-book fare after Emma and the Blue Genie (2014). Here, mariner Stout Sam and deckhand Pip eke out a comfortable existence on Butterfly Island ferrying cargo to and fro. Life is good, but it takes an unexpected turn when a barrel washes ashore containing a pig with a skull-and-crossbones pendant around her neck. It soon becomes clear that this little piggy, dubbed Julie, has the ability to sniff out treasure—lots of it—in the sea. The duo is pleased with her skills, but pride goeth before the hog. Stout Sam hands out some baubles to the local children, and his largess attracts the unwanted attention of Barracuda Bill and his nasty minions. Now they’ve pignapped Julie, and it’s up to the intrepid sailors to save the porker and their own bacon. The succinct word count meets the needs of kids looking for early adventure fare. The tale is slight, bouncy, and amusing, though Julie is never the piratical buccaneer the book’s cover seems to suggest. Meanwhile, Meyer’s cheery watercolors are as comfortable diagramming the different parts of a pirate vessel as they are rendering the dread pirate captain himself.
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure. (Adventure. 7-9)Pub Date: June 23, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37544-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
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