As irreverent, sarcastic, and strange as murderous, barking penguins.
An unwanted orphan awakens to his destined werepenguin powers and faces an evil immortal threatening war and domination under penguin rule.
Twelve-year-old boy Humboldt thinks his only talent is bolting under beds until he’s adopted by Baron Chordata of Volgelplatz, Brugaria. In Volgelplatz, where the full moon shines every night, penguins terrorize the villagers for fish sticks under the baron’s tyrannical leadership. Like the baron, Bolt has the ability to understand penguin thoughts and transform under the light of the moon, but all he wants is a family. His dream may never come true if he fails to defeat the baron as foretold in prophecy. Woodrow presents Bolt’s adventure as a story within a story, narrated by the penguin caretaker at the St. Aves Zoo. Illustrations accompany the text, highlighting moments of drama and action. While Bolt’s story forms the central thread of the tale, the narrator shifts the focus among characters, including Annika, a 12-year-old bandit. All the strands of the story tie neatly together in the resolution. Apart from two minor characters (a bandit and a witchy fortuneteller) the cast of characters is white. Although there’s nothing unique about the chosen-one plot, this series opener’s overall outrageous sense of humor has a high appeal.
As irreverent, sarcastic, and strange as murderous, barking penguins. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-451-48044-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
Certain to steal hearts.
In this follow-up to 2020’s The One and Only Bob, Ruby the elephant is still living at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary.
She’s apprehensive about her Tuskday, a rite of passage for young elephants when she’ll give a speech in front of the rest of the herd. Luckily, she can confide in her Uncle Ivan, who is next door in Gorilla World, and Uncle Bob, the dog who lives nearby with human friend Julia. Ruby was born in an unspecified part of Africa, later ending up on display in the mall, where she met Ivan, Bob, and Julia. The unexpected arrival of someone from Ruby’s past life on the savanna revives memories both warmly nostalgic and deeply traumatic. An elephant glossary and Castelao’s charming, illustrated guide to elephant body language help immerse readers in Ruby’s world. Goofy, playful, and mischievous Ruby is fully dimensional, as she has shown her bravery during the many hardships of her young life. Applegate deftly tempers themes of grief and loss with compassion and humor as Ruby finds her place in the herd. The author’s note touches on climate change, the illegal ivory trade, and conservation efforts, but the highly emotive framing of the story through the memories of a bewildered baby elephant emphasizes the impact of lines such as “ ‘in Africa,’ I say softly, ‘there were bad people,’ ” without offering readers a nuanced understanding of the broader context that drives poaching.
Certain to steal hearts. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780063080089
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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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