Jill and Harry find a talking sword (Sigismund, or ``Siggy'') who says they've have been chosen for a quest involving an ogre and a dragon guarding a rescuee who—in the absence of a more suitable damsel (Jill is one of the rescuers, and Mom certainly isn't eligible)—proves to be Queenie, the family pooch. Off they go to ``Mandragora''; Harry carries Siggy, but Jill has the best ideas. The ogre isn't hard to divert with bubble gum; Queenie has made a bosom buddy of the dragon and is reluctant to come home; the greatest unpleasantness is a bit of teasing from their peers when they return, still in costume. As intended, this ``Springboard'' fantasy is feather light, though it does make an effort to counter reverse stereotypes (Jill does tae kwon do and enjoys wearing her damsel's gown). The action and repartee are predictable but amusing; full-page b&w drawings reflect the lively good humor. Acceptable additional fare. (Fiction/Young reader. 7-10)
Pub Date: May 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-316-07961-8
Page Count: 78
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1991
A collaboration between the creator of The Rag Coat (1991) and the creator of The Castle Builder (1993) results in an anemic, predictable tale of a wingless fairy saving her sept from a troll and getting engaged to a prince. Fia, scorned by her seven sisters, mends the wing of a passing fairy who (no surprise) turns out to be Prince Hyacinth. She accepts his invitation to the May Dance, arriving in time to see all the fairies netted by a troll, and contrives a rescue. The prose is limp; occasional efforts to enliven it—one character uses a sock to blow his nose—come off as vulgar instead of earthy. Fia and her kin adopt mannered poses in slightly blurred paintings that appear to be coated with yellow varnish. Challenge lovers of wee folk with David Christiana's surprising, considerably less conventional White Nineteens (1992) instead. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-316-57397-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Third-grader Chelsea's divorced mother has always told her to stand up for herself, but Chelsea has found it easier to let others take charge; however, now it's time for action. When the fifth-grade boys steal a Barbie doll head and use it for a game of catch, Chelsea demolishes most of one boy's lunch, reforming him on the spot. Screwing up her courage, she asks her father to read to her on their single weekend together. She discovers that her friendship with one girl can survive a few criticisms; she faces down another friend who wants to take advantage of her usual silence. In fact, Chelsea asserts herself at erratic intervals throughout the book, perhaps most stridently in the first chapter's Barbie incident (not constructive problem-solving but effective). As a result, the ending is anticlimactic, if not repetitive. Still, Chelsea is sweetly self-absorbed and imaginative: a genuine character with problems just her size—and solutions all her own. (Fiction. 7-9)*justify no*
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-8075-7552-6
Page Count: 157
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
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