Come for the ghost. Stay for the pirates
A class of school kids on a field trip gets an infusion of piratical machinations in this latest book in a series, following Gargoyle Hall (2015).
Living in a boarding school is the best thing ever to have happened to Araminta Spookie. And when the class field trip turns out to be to creepy Skeleton Island, she has no difficulty filling her classmates in on the mysterious pirate ship that sank beneath the seas nearby. A run-in with two nefarious girls leaves Araminta and her best friend, Wanda, stranded on the island, where they have the particular misfortune to run into bat guano, ghost girls, and skeleton pirates with a sweet tooth for buried treasure. Araminta is not particularly nice to Wanda, but it’s intriguing to watch her use her brains to get the two of them out of sticky situations. Kelly’s black-and-white illustrations temper the tiny traces of scary material, leaving the book appropriate for younger ages, though they appear to depict an all-white cast. Skeleton pirates are nothing new, and Araminta offers the usual goth-girl-in-a-jam formula. Still, there are enough piratical high jinks to keep young readers on their toes.
Come for the ghost. Stay for the pirates . (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: July 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61963-945-4
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
A giant googly eye embedded in a bite-marked cover beckons invitingly to stronger-stomached monster lovers.
Go for the gross! Even hard-core fans may be tempted to give away their lunches after sampling this banquet of bogles.
Advising readers who don’t wish to become entrées themselves to flee at the first sign of monsters, “expert” Dr. Thomas Jelly presents a menagerie of menaces from giant closet worms, the aptly named Dentadontis and snot pets that “just love to hang out,” to the Lesser-Spotted Pooter, the Fartsquid and (tossing in something for the ‘rents) Crate Moss “the world’s most beautiful monster.” Flushed with references to poop and other bodily excrescences, the narrative covers monster types, household habitats (like your toothpaste tube—guess what comes out when you squeeze) and recipes (“Live Eyes On Sticks,” “Thing On Toast”). Also discussed are monster escape, capture and disposal strategies. Enhanced by dozens of flaps and sliding tabs, plus die cuts, minibooks and popups, the cartoon art portrays its luridly hued subjects in properly nauseating detail.
A giant googly eye embedded in a bite-marked cover beckons invitingly to stronger-stomached monster lovers. (Novelty browsing item. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5756-7
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers new to chapter books and who like to laugh often will most likely find Willy’s story peppered with just enough silly...
Willy Maykit is not an ordinary kid.
Although his scientist father was lost on an expedition to the Amazon, that hasn’t blunted Willy’s sense of adventure one bit. When a class field trip to Planet Ed comes up, Willy convinces his mother to put aside her worries and sign the permission slip. All goes well on the trip to the faraway planet, but Willy goes off to explore on his own, and when threatening weather leads to the hurried return of the spacecraft back to Earth, he is left behind. At first Willy believes he is the only one, but he soon discovers a green extraterrestrial named Norp along with Cindy Das (described as “the prettiest girl in class” and depicted as dark-skinned with long, dark hair; Willy is blond and fair-skinned). So the trio find themselves trying to survive attacks from huge hairy, hungry monsters (that sometimes wear sunglasses) until they are rescued. Trine keeps the outlandish plot and dialogue moving along at a speed-of-light pace. Some comic touches are employed a bit too often, such as android pilot Max’s overenthusiastic responses to a few well-known knock-knock jokes. For those still appreciative of a well-placed illustration to set the scene, Burks’ cartoon images won’t disappoint.
Readers new to chapter books and who like to laugh often will most likely find Willy’s story peppered with just enough silly humor (monster poop!) to keep the pages turning. (Adventure. 7-10)Pub Date: March 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-31351-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
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