Saved by those sparkling elves, this tale will have fans who will appreciate its ethereal otherness, but for a typical...
A free-spirited tale about elves that spend their time chasing down and collecting the joys of life, this book has an underlying message that is much deeper—nearly hidden.
The titular Things in the Air are elusive, fleeting moments that bring happiness to all: a delicious smell, a lovely smile, funny riddles. The Sparkling Elves spend their days tracking down these fleeting joys until the Snouty Witches appear. Gray and gloomy, the witches symbolize the adult world with briefcases and an impatience with useless things. Their goal is be rid of the Things in the Air, which will turn the Sparkling Elves into dull, hardworking creatures. Will they succeed? Perhaps it’s something in the translation, as the premise doesn’t quite work, with illustrations that confuse and an overload of text on many pages. Surreal and phantasmagoric, the images convey a sense of the absurd with bright colors and bug-eyed creatures. Yet hidden under the magical overlay there are references to serious illness that are revealed in bits and pieces: baldness, dreamland and evil things that take away time. These chilling references, once seen, loom large, changing a silly fantasy book into a healing fable about the terminally ill.
Saved by those sparkling elves, this tale will have fans who will appreciate its ethereal otherness, but for a typical audience, the symbolism will likely be lost in confusion. (Fiction. 6 & up)Pub Date: May 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-84-15784-04-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2014
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
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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