A fun, instructive eco-adventure for young readers.
Young Izzy, Sam, and Joey are back with another ecological adventure in Florida’s Everglades.
In Book 1 of the author’s series, siblings Izzy and Sam and their friend Joey save some alligator hatchlings in Everglade Glenn, a neighborhood abutting Florida’s Wilde Animal Sanctuary in the Everglades. The latest visitors to the sanctuary are several cassowary chicks hatched from eggs taken from an illegal pet dealer. The three youngsters (all 10 or 11) are trying to raise money to return the cassowaries to their natural habitat in New Guinea, with Izzy cat sitting for a neighbor, Sam attempting to win a video game competition, and Joey trying to win a dirt-bike race. At the same time, real estate agent Ashley Homes is trying her best to rezone the neighborhood so she can raze the sanctuary and build condos. She’s also threatening the sanctuary with legal action on behalf of the illegal pet owners’ attorneys, who don’t know the eggs have hatched and want them returned. In the end, the young trio may very well complete their mission and more. Though the Ashley Homes storyline isn’t ever resolved, the rest of the book is as charming and inviting as the first in the series. Siblings Izzy and Sam are thoughtful eco-champions and nuanced characters, as is Joey, though he has very little to do in this volume. The book abounds with environmental and animal info; the author slides a lot of that knowledge about rainforests, tigers, and, of course, cassowaries (large, flightless birds) into an entertaining adventure. Ramsey’s drawings of flora and fauna add interest and detail (though some images are repeated). Young readers will be captivated by this book, and probably won’t mind the lack of resolution of the Ashley Homes storyline. Maybe she’ll return in Book 3?
A fun, instructive eco-adventure for young readers.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9798822934023
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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