by Anna Starobinets ; illustrated by Marie Muravski ; translated by Jane Bugaeva ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 16, 2019
Mystery fans (around the world) should rejoice.
Come to the Far Woods for a tale of beastly crimes and detection in this Russian import.
Chief Badger has had to make the wrenching decision to suspend his Assistant Chief Badger—and adoptive son—Badgercat (an actual cat). Badgercat is under suspicion of being the Plucker, a villain who is plucking seemingly random birds in the Far Woods and burning their feathers. Super Bat, a representative of Madame Weasel, is 100% certain Badgercat is the perp. Chief Badger would like to use his badger logic and look for clues (and, hopefully, clear his son). Meanwhile, with the aid of his new sketchy friend Ratty, Badgercat is working to clear his name with an investigation of his own. Who could be pulling the feathers off the avian denizens of the wood? Arctic the fox? Sneaky Sal the lizard? One of the birds…or someone higher up? And what does the poetry of Robert Forest have to do with it? Starobinets’ fourth Beastly Crimes book is a clever whodunit featuring believable animal characters in a convincing, recognizable society. There are perhaps one (or two) too many red herrings, but a satisfying conclusion will please fans. This tale can stand alone, but all are much more enjoyable starting from the beginning. A few full-color illustrations from Muravski add to the appeal.
Mystery fans (around the world) should rejoice. (Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-4868-2953-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Dover
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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by Anna Starobinets ; illustrated by Andrzej Klimowski ; translated by Jane Bugaeva
by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023
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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by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown
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by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown
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by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown
by Louis Sachar ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1998
Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this...
Sentenced to a brutal juvenile detention camp for a crime he didn't commit, a wimpy teenager turns four generations of bad family luck around in this sunburnt tale of courage, obsession, and buried treasure from Sachar (Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, 1995, etc.).
Driven mad by the murder of her black beau, a schoolteacher turns on the once-friendly, verdant town of Green Lake, Texas, becomes feared bandit Kissin' Kate Barlow, and dies, laughing, without revealing where she buried her stash. A century of rainless years later, lake and town are memories—but, with the involuntary help of gangs of juvenile offenders, the last descendant of the last residents is still digging. Enter Stanley Yelnats IV, great-grandson of one of Kissin' Kate's victims and the latest to fall to the family curse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; under the direction of The Warden, a woman with rattlesnake venom polish on her long nails, Stanley and each of his fellow inmates dig a hole a day in the rock-hard lake bed. Weeks of punishing labor later, Stanley digs up a clue, but is canny enough to conceal the information of which hole it came from. Through flashbacks, Sachar weaves a complex net of hidden relationships and well-timed revelations as he puts his slightly larger-than-life characters under a sun so punishing that readers will be reaching for water bottles.
Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this rugged, engrossing adventure. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 978-0-374-33265-5
Page Count: 233
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000
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by Louis Sachar ; illustrated by Tim Heitz
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by Louis Sachar
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by Louis Sachar
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