by Chris d’Lacey & illustrated by Adam Stower ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009
Nine-year-old Lucy Pennykettle’s new guard dragon, Gruffen, discovers that the terrifying monster in her bedroom is really the shadow of a small bat in need of a better home. D’Lacey has brought back Lucy and Liz from The Fire Within (2005) and its sequels for this first of a new series aimed at much younger readers. Ceramic artist Elizabeth Pennykettle makes dragon sculptures; some, she brings to life. Created with a book in his paws, young Gruffen’s efforts to learn about his world through reading and exploration provide most of the narrative arc. This short chapter book has a series of conflicts that include Lucy’s night fears, a neighbor’s determination to get rid of the bats and the need to keep the dragon secret, but unfortunately adults resolve them all. The idea of a small guard dragon is undeniably appealing, but Stower’s inferior illustrations, the flat characters, shifting story line and the too-obvious message make this a disappointment. (Fantasy. 7-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-545-16815-1
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2009
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by Louie Stowell ; illustrated by Davide Ortu ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021
Joyful and funny.
Three friends fight an evil developer who wants to tear down the magical library.
What should this trio of friends do during summer vacation? Outdoorsy Kit, a White girl, despairs of her friends, Alita and Josh, both kids of color, she really does. Why do they want to read when they could go to the cemetery and get muddy instead? But in the library, Kit discovers an ability: When she touches certain books, she travels to a magical place. Faith, the Black head librarian, her hair in locs, explains with some surprise that Kit is a wizard. It’s a puzzler, Faith tells her, because wizardry doesn’t typically show up until someone turns 18, and Kit is only 10. Faith wants Kit to keep her wizardry a secret, but good luck keeping the knowledge from Alita and Josh, who eavesdrop. So the friends tag along while Kit learns magic (a significant component of which seems to be librarianship), gains a wizard cloak, and befriends Dogon, the half-dog, half-dragon who lives in the magical library forest. With Josh’s and Alita’s attention to detail and Kit’s natural magic, maybe they’ll be able to defeat Mr. Salt, the pink-faced CEO who plans to tear down the library—if impulsive Kit learns to channel her inner chaos and trust her friends. Playful illustrations complement the witty dialogue, dryly ironic narrative voice, and comical villainy.
Joyful and funny. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1493-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Walker US/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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by Louie Stowell ; illustrated by Davide Ortu
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by Bill Doyle & illustrated by Scott Altmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 26, 2011
Aimed straight at proto-Goosebumps fans, this formulaic series opener pits two 9-year-olds against a great white shark with legs. Having lost his bike in a lake thanks to the latest hare-brained scheme of his impulsive cousin Henry, bookish Keats reluctantly agrees to finance a replacement by earning some money taking on odd jobs at a spooky local mansion. The prosaic task of weeding the garden quickly turns into an extended flight through a series of magical rooms after a shark monster rises out of the ground and gives chase. Dashing from one narrow squeak to the next, the lads encounter a kitchen with an invisible "sink," a giant vomiting bookworm in the library, a carpet pattern in the hall that (literally) bites and, most usefully, a magic wand that they get to keep (setting up future episodes) after spelling the monster away. Tilted points of view give the occasional illustrations more energy than the labored plot ever musters, and the characters rarely show even two dimensions. Fledgling readers will do better in the hands of Jim Benton’s Franny K. Stein series or Bruce and Katherine Coville’s Moongobble and Me books. (Horror. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 26, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-375-86675-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
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by Bill Doyle ; illustrated by Sarah Sax
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