A cozy and warmhearted adventure with some nice touches.
Three friends discover a hidden pool whose magical properties could help protect an animal habitat in this illustrated children’s book.
Fifth graders Cosmo, Leigh, and Tara pay a visit to the spooky mansion owned by Cosmo’s grandmother. There, they encounter several talking animals and discover a secret door that leads, Grandma reveals, to the tunnels of an abandoned gold and silver mine where a pool is hidden. Many years ago, a biologist invented an elixir that allows animals to speak. To protect the secret, she poured the potion into the underground waterhole, which now serves as a place for animals of all kinds to meet, talk, and solve problems such as habitat loss. The children make an adventurous journey to the hidden pool, but Leigh has trouble maneuvering his wheelchair. A glowing lady gives him a special drink that makes operating the chair effortless—he can even fly or skip over the water—allowing him to joyfully explore the crystal-lined tunnels. The kids learn that the biologist also invented a camouflage liquid that can protect endangered animals while making humans’ fears become real. The liquid is found and distributed around Grandma’s house, scaring off would-be property developers for good. In her second book featuring Leigh, McIver gives her character a way to experience mobility that celebrates rather than erases his wheelchair. This type of lovely scene is hard to find in children’s books. The fantasy of saving endangered species and habitats also has strong appeal as well as the fun of potions, talking animals, and hidden wonders. But the writing suffers from the overuse of dialogue tags (“Cosmo chuckles”; “Tara giggles”; “whines Tara”). Saunders, illustrating her latest children’s book, supplies winsome monochrome and color pictures of the White characters that convey the story’s compassion.
A cozy and warmhearted adventure with some nice touches.Pub Date: May 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-64-841786-6
Page Count: 84
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A wild romp that champions making space for vulnerable creatures and each other.
A boy with ADHD explores nature and himself.
Eleven-year-old Jake Rizzi just wants to be seen as “normal”; he blames his brain for leading him into trouble and making him do things that annoy his peers and even his own parents. Case in point: He’s stuck spending a week in rural Oregon with an aunt he barely knows while his parents go on vacation. Jake’s reluctance changes as he learns about the town’s annual festival, during which locals search for a fabled turtle. But news of this possibly undiscovered species has spread. Although Aunt Hettle insists to Jake that it’s only folklore, the fame-hungry convene, sure that the Ruby-Backed Turtle is indeed real—just as Jake discovers is the case. Keeping its existence secret is critical to protecting the rare creature from a poacher and others with ill intentions. Readers will keep turning pages to find out how Jake and new friend Mia will foil the caricatured villains. Along the way, Bramucci packs in teachable moments around digital literacy, mindfulness, and ecological interdependence, along with the message that “the only way to protect the natural world is to love it.” Jake’s inner monologue elucidates the challenges and benefits of ADHD as well as practical coping strategies. Whether or not readers share Jake’s diagnosis, they’ll empathize with his insecurities. Jake and his family present white; Mia is Black, and names of secondary characters indicate some ethnic diversity.
A wild romp that champions making space for vulnerable creatures and each other. (Adventure. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781547607020
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to...
A group of talking farm animals catches wind of the farm owner’s intention to burn the barn (with them in it) for insurance money and hatches a plan to flee.
Bond begins briskly—within the first 10 pages, barn cat Burdock has overheard Dewey Baxter’s nefarious plan, and by Page 17, all of the farm animals have been introduced and Burdock is sharing the terrifying news. Grady, Dewey’s (ever-so-slightly) more principled brother, refuses to go along, but instead of standing his ground, he simply disappears. This leaves the animals to fend for themselves. They do so by relying on their individual strengths and one another. Their talents and personalities match their species, bringing an element of realism to balance the fantasy elements. However, nothing can truly compensate for the bland horror of the premise. Not the growing sense of family among the animals, the serendipitous intervention of an unknown inhabitant of the barn, nor the convenient discovery of an alternate home. Meanwhile, Bond’s black-and-white drawings, justly compared to those of Garth Williams, amplify the sense of dissonance. Charming vignettes and single- and double-page illustrations create a pastoral world into which the threat of large-scale violence comes as a shock.
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to ponder the awkward coincidences that propel the plot. (Animal fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-33217-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
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