An entertaining, action-packed series opener.
Fleeing from conflict and separated from her family, a young girl lost in the wild must learn to survive with the help of her new animal companions.
“We have to move fast! They’re coming!,” says Gwen’s mom as she shakes her awake. Equipped only with what they can hastily fit into their car, Gwen’s family flees into the night. After Dad crashes the car, the family runs toward a forest, seeking safety from an overhead bomber, but Gwen ends up separated and lost in the wilderness. While trying to find her mom, dad, and older sister, Gwen discovers she’s not alone—a misfit band of dogs saves her from drowning, and they quickly become inseparable. Together with her new animal companions, Gwen recalls advice from her parents, honing her instincts and learning how to survive. Roughly three years later, Gwen is “no longer a helpless little girl” but the “leader of a pack of animals” that has become her family—but she never forgets her human family, and a pivotal moment sends Gwen and her pack on an unexpected journey. Captivating black-and-white illustrations appear on nearly every page, adding to the tale’s suspense. Vietnamese Australian author, artist, and performer Do strikes just the right balance between realism and fiction in this fast-paced, highly engaging story of friendship, loyalty, surprises, and survival with an alluring cliffhanger ending. Gwen has light skin and dark hair.
An entertaining, action-packed series opener. (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781760525095
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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