Twelve-year-old Cody is worried about life in Sultana, Manitoba. The river is drying up, the lake is a muddy mess and business is bad. The local restaurant may have to close, and that would mean his best friend, Eric, whose mother works at the restaurant, might have to move away. So Cody, Eric and Eric’s twin sister, Rachel, hatch a plan to bring tourists to Sultana and revive the sagging economy. The likable kids consider various schemes: create a gigantic sculpture of a moose, gopher or spruce bug? a U.F.O., perhaps? Sasquatch? They zero in on creating an ancient Egyptian tablet—local clay on slate from the American South—and invent a message from a lesser scribe indicating a band of Egyptian travelers had journeyed up the Mississippi River only to be stranded in Manitoba. When Dr. Murray (“retired now from some kind of doctoring”) discovers the tablet by the river’s edge while fishing, experts are brought in and great excitement ensues. The far-fetched story, intended as pure fun, succeeds as a fast-paced archaeological adventure, the first of a planned series. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: April 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-897550-83-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Lobster Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There'll be no silence in the library once readers get hold of this somewhat classier alternative to Barf-o-Rama books and...
In the fine old tradition of James Marshall's Cut-Ups, Pilkey (God Bless the Gargoyles, 1996, etc.) introduces George Beard and Harold Hutchins, two usually responsible fourth-graders, as in ``whenever anything bad happened, George and Harold were usually responsible.''
Pranksters of the first order, George and Harold are finally nabbed by Mr. Krupp, the principal, whom they then hypnotize into believing he's Captain Underpants, a superhero of their own creation. Before they can stop him, he's out the window in cape and briefs, off to fight crime with Wedgie Power, taking on bank robbers, robot thieves—`` `You know,' said George, `up until now this story was almost believable!' ''—and ultimately the evil Dr. Diaper. Distracting Dr. Diaper with some ``fake doggy doo- doo,'' the boys save the planet, then hustle Krupp back into his clothes, just in time for—their next adventure, The Attack of the Talking Toilets, coming soon. Pilkey's stubby black-and-white cartoon figures appear on every page but can be animated in one chapter, thanks to ``Flip-O-Rama,'' where readers flip pages back and forth for the ``latest in cheesy animation technology.'' There'll be no silence in the library once readers get hold of this somewhat classier alternative to Barf-o-Rama books and their crude ilk. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-590-84627-2
Page Count: 121
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1997
SEEN & HEARD
Nonstop, action-packed, episodic exploits against the voracious undead.
Resourceful kids battle hordes of the walking dead.
Residents of several Northern California counties are being advised to evacuate and “flee to safety” in the wake of a zombie epidemic. Lucy Santifer and her family just make it to their car when they are attacked and killed. Nearby, Lucy’s best friend, 12-year-old Joule Artis, climbs into her treehouse, the better to seek her missing father. Elsewhere, 11-year-old Oliver Wachs is holed up in the Redwood Zombie Brigade Headquarters, stocked with weaponry and populated by dedicated zombiefighters. And Regina, 12, is haunted by her narrow zombie escapes even as her mother, Dr. Celeste Herrera, unveils Project Coloma, an ingenious system that uses a zombie treadmill situated in an abandoned gold mine to create much-needed energy for the region. Weinberger’s monster thriller is long on suspense, with several close calls but no graphic violence. The action pings briskly among the three young protagonists, and the punchy prose is suitably pitched to a preteen readership. The plot thickens with the forecast of a Rogue Wave of zombies headed to town. The trio eventually joins forces, promising further fights for freedom. If this horror thrill ride makes readers want to join the zombiefighters, note that there is a video game tie-in. Play at your own risk. Oliver reads white, Regina is cued Latina, and Joule is minimally described and racially ambiguous.
Nonstop, action-packed, episodic exploits against the voracious undead. (link to play the online game) (Adventure. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781338881714
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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