Much of this story has yet to be told or even released; maybe it will flesh out some.
At summer camp, a gathering of faes and elves, sprites and pixies, cyclops and kitsunes and leprechauns see what they can do about the birth of an unhappy dragon—that is if the hydra and sirens and dryads, cockatrice and basilisk and kraken don’t make a mess of things.
At Camp Myth, mythological creatures get together each summer to take strength in numbers, as mythological creatures are fewer on the ground and not getting the respect they ought from the modern world. Here, they—and readers—will get acquainted with the range of strange beings, some enticing, some dicey, some like the lovable jerk in high school (yes, the cyclops). The story is a straightforward affair in which the fae and the kitsune try to handle a newborn dragon, along with a supporting cast of unnaturals. The backgrounds are handsome, and the characters have a ’tude that ranges between bohemian and babe. But those wishing for energetic engagement with the story will be disappointed, as there is little but a linear progression through the plot, with a trunk line running off here and there. The characters roll in from stages left and right as if on dollies, and the speech bubbles so dominate the screen that they obliterate the settings. The narrative, however, has a creepy/comic momentum that will keep the screen active by users.
Much of this story has yet to be told or even released; maybe it will flesh out some. (iPad storybook app. 6-10)Pub Date: April 11, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Chris Lewis Carter
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low.
Recasting Dog Man and his feline ward, Li’l Petey, as costumed superheroes, Pilkey looks East of Eden in this follow-up to Tale of Two Kitties (2017).
The Steinbeck novel’s Cain/Abel motif gets some play here, as Petey, “world’s evilest cat” and cloned Li’l Petey’s original, tries assiduously to tempt his angelic counterpart over to the dark side only to be met, ultimately at least, by Li’l Petey’s “Thou mayest.” (There are also occasional direct quotes from the novel.) But inner struggles between good and evil assume distinctly subordinate roles to riotous outer ones, as Petey repurposes robots built for a movie about the exploits of Dog Man—“the thinking man’s Rin Tin Tin”—while leading a general rush to the studio’s costume department for appropriate good guy/bad guy outfits in preparation for the climactic battle. During said battle and along the way Pilkey tucks in multiple Flip-O-Rama inserts as well as general gags. He lists no fewer than nine ways to ask “who cut the cheese?” and includes both punny chapter titles (“The Bark Knight Rises”) and nods to Hamiltonand Mary Poppins. The cartoon art, neatly and brightly colored by Garibaldi, is both as easy to read as the snappy dialogue and properly endowed with outsized sound effects, figures displaying a range of skin colors, and glimpses of underwear (even on robots).
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low. (drawing instructions) (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-93518-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
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