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MAURICE THE UNBEASTLY

Name: MAURICE THE UNBEASTLY
Author: Amy Dixon
ISBN: 978-1-4549-1953-7

by Amy Dixon ; illustrated by Karl James Mountford ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2017

An urbane take on the “nice monster” theme.

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A misfit monster comes into his own when the Abominable Academy for Brutish Beasts is invaded by a scary creature.

Sweet of voice, vegetarian, and “ridiculously photogenic,” Maurice is not only the despair of his hairy parents, but on the verge of being kicked out of school for singing when he should be roaring, dancing when he should be practicing havoc-wreaking, and sneaking alfalfa fritters into the rioting lunchroom. When a frightening invader—which is to say, a frisky small dog—sends the monstrous students and teachers into tizzies, though, Maurice tames the beast with a fritter and so earns the title of Official Creature Whisperer. Not content to rest on his laurels, he leverages this “gargantuan success” by going on to organize an a cappella group called The Barbaritones and campaign for more lunch options (“Raise Your Tail for Kale”). Just as the story celebrates differences, so do Mountford’s cartoon illustrations, which surround Maurice (a Wild Thing outtake with green skin and human facial features) with an array of fellow student monsters, no two of whom look even remotely alike.

An urbane take on the “nice monster” theme. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4549-1953-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sterling

Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S PARANORMAL & SUPERNATURAL

- BOOK REVIEW
ANNIE B., MADE FOR TV
by Amy Dixon ; illustrated by Amy Dixon

THE ONE AND ONLY SPARKELLA AND THE BIG LIE

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THE ONE AND ONLY SPARKELLA AND THE BIG LIE

From the Sparkella series , Vol. 3

by Channing Tatum ; illustrated by Kim Barnes ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 30, 2023

An awesome-tastic invitation to have or share thoughts about bad and better choices.

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Actor Tatum’s effervescent heroine steals a friend’s toy and then lies about it.

Thrilled about an upcoming play date with new classmate Wyatt, Sparkella considers her own sparkly stuffies, games, and accessories and silently decides that he’d be more interested in her friend Tam’s remote-controlled minicar. While she and Tam are playing together, Sparkella takes the car when Tam isn’t looking. Tam melts down at school the next day, and Sparkella, seeing her “bestest friend” losing her sparkle, feels “icky, oogy, and blech.” And when Wyatt comes over, he turns out to be far more entranced by glittery goods than some old car. When Sparkella yells at him—“WYATT, YOU HAVE TO PLAY WITH THIS CAR RIGHT NOW!”—her dad overhears and asks where the toy came from…and along with being a thief, Sparkella turns out to be the worst. Liar. Ever. She eventually confesses (her dad forgives her), apologizes (ditto Wyatt and even Tam), and goes on to take part in a three-way play date/sparklefest. Her absolution may come with unlikely ease, but it’s comfortingly reassuring, and her model single dad does lay down a solid parental foundation by allowing that everyone makes mistakes and stressing that she is “never going to be punished for telling the truth in this house.” He and Sparkella present White, a previous entry cued brown-skinned Tam as Asian, and Wyatt has brown skin in Barnes’ candy-hued pictures. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An awesome-tastic invitation to have or share thoughts about bad and better choices. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: May 30, 2023

ISBN: 9781250750778

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ONE AND ONLY SPARKELLA MAKES A PLAN
by Channing Tatum ; illustrated by Kim Barnes

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ONE AND ONLY SPARKELLA
by Channing Tatum ; illustrated by Kim Barnes

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THE MINIATURE WORLD OF MARVIN & JAMES

From the Masterpiece Adventures series , Vol. 1

by Elise Broach ; illustrated by Kelly Murphy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 25, 2014

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The boy-and-beetle friendship first introduced in Broach’s charming novel Masterpiece (2010) is now the cornerstone of an illustrated chapter-book series.

James is a boy, and Marvin is a beetle, but with the help of Marvin’s drawing skills, they find a way to communicate. James’ mom worries that her son’s best friend is an insect, but tiny Marvin has the opposite worry—that James will find human friends who supplant him. When James takes off on a beach vacation, Marvin frets even more, but he manages to have a few adventures of his own, like getting trapped inside Mr. Pompaday’s electric pencil sharpener with his beetle cousin Elaine. At first it’s entertaining to frolic among the shavings, but when an unanticipated pencil clogs the exit hole, there’s big trouble. Murphy clearly revels in the Borrowers-style perspective of the beetles’ miniature world: In their under-sink home, Marvin’s drawing table is a die, and a propped-up birthday-cake candle dwarfs the family. The dramatic, blow-by-blow pencil-sharpener incident dominates the story, but it circles back to friendship. James really did miss Marvin after all, and a souvenir seashell (the perfect beetle hideout!) seals the deal. This winsome series debut is both a sweet story of cross-species friendship and a sobering new way to look at pencil sharpeners. (Fantasy. 6-8)