This entomological adventure celebrates teamwork and girl power.
Two preteen girl superheroes struggle with their personal differences and contend with a diabolical geriatric.
In this second episode of the Bug Girl series, aside from training together, seventh-graders Emily (who still has not found her superhero moniker) and Bug Girl/Amanda are far from a happy duo. In school, Emily is obsessed with popularity, while Amanda is way more interested in its entomology club. Amanda is extremely concerned about the creature living in the town’s grotesquely polluted lake, but Emily wants little more than to be queen of the upcoming dance. Amanda’s superpowers, among them flight and a protective exoskeleton, spur Emily’s jealousy, as her abilities are seemingly lackluster. Meanwhile, the school’s passel of upper-echelon girls is dwindling as they begin to disappear. There’s also a new student, Geri, who ups the ante on how to be a mean girl, dishing out fashion-violation tickets and otherwise bullying relentlessly. There’s also something about Geri that makes Amanda’s antennae tingle. Each chapter begins with a quirky bug fact, and the plentiful illustrations are a nod to superhero comics. The key characters appear to be white. Told in the third person primarily from Amanda’s perspective, the hijinks and variety of comical ne’er-do-wells combine to make a case that envy may be the most venomous evil of all.
This entomological adventure celebrates teamwork and girl power. (Adventure. 7-12)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-10663-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Imprint
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Utterly believable, this bittersweet story, complete with an author’s note identifying the real Ivan, will inspire a new...
How Ivan confronts his harrowing past yet stays true to his nature exemplifies everything youngsters need to know about courage.
Living in a "domain" of glass, metal and cement at the Big Top Mall, Ivan sometimes forgets whether to act like a gorilla or a human—except Ivan does not think much of humans. He describes their behavior as frantic, whereas he is a peaceful artist. Fittingly, Ivan narrates his tale in short, image-rich sentences and acute, sometimes humorous, observations that are all the more heartbreaking for their simple delivery. His sorrow is palpable, but he stoically endures the cruelty of humans until Ruby the baby elephant is abused. In a pivotal scene, Ivan finally admits his domain is a cage, and rather than let Ruby live and die in grim circumstances, he promises to save her. In order to express his plea in a painting, Ivan must bravely face buried memories of the lush jungle, his family and their brutal murder, which is recounted in a brief, powerful chapter sure to arouse readers’ passions. In a compelling ending, the more challenging question Applegate poses is whether or not Ivan will remember what it was like to be a gorilla. Spot art captures poignant moments throughout.
Utterly believable, this bittersweet story, complete with an author’s note identifying the real Ivan, will inspire a new generation of advocates. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-199225-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face.
Four misunderstood villains endeavor to turn over a new leaf…or a new rap sheet in Blabey's frenzied romp.
As readers open the first page of this early chapter book, Mr. Wolf is right there to greet them, bemoaning his reputation. "Just because I've got BIG POINTY TEETH and RAZOR-SHARP CLAWS and I occasionally like to dress up like an OLD LADY, that doesn't mean… / … I'm a BAD GUY." To prove this very fact, Mr. Wolf enlists three equally slandered friends into the Good Guys Club: Mr. Snake (aka the Chicken Swallower), Mr. Piranha (aka the Butt Biter), and Mr. Shark (aka Jaws). After some convincing from Mr. Wolf, the foursome sets off determined to un-smirch their names (and reluctantly curbing their appetites). Although these predators find that not everyone is ready to be at the receiving end of their helpful efforts, they use all their Bad Guy know-how to manage a few hilarious good deeds. Blabey has hit the proverbial nail on the head, kissed it full on the mouth, and handed it a stick of Acme dynamite. With illustrations that startle in their manic comedy and deadpan direct address and with a narrative that follows four endearingly sardonic characters trying to push past (sometimes successfully) their fear-causing natures, this book instantly joins the classic ranks of Captain Underpants and The Stinky Cheese Man.
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-91240-2
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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