Light fare for emergent chapter-book readers who’ve exhausted the Magic Tree House series.
A magical camper van whisks twins Molly and Finn to a dude ranch for a mystery mission.
This first in a beginning chapter-book series blends cozy sibling adventure with a geography theme. The Planet Earth Transporter literally introduces itself to Molly and Finn as they explore the spacious van parked in their Ohio driveway. The rising third-graders, illustrated with white skin and friendly demeanors, find themselves transported to Colorado by the PET in a matter of minutes. Gentle black-and-white illustrations break up text as the pair are deposited at Snowflake Ranch until their “work is done.” The careful balance of dialogue and somewhat-advanced vocabulary throughout will build confidence among emergent readers as they see newer words paired with context clues. Normative gender roles are reinforced: Maternal Helen prepares all the food in the mess hall, Finn is physically brave and a sports fan, and Molly is timorous and book smart. When the ranch’s prize cow, Snowflake, is wrestled by “rogue cowboys” during a cattle drive, Molly, Finn, and newfound friend Ella break off from the grown-ups for a rescue operation. Ella, the lone dark-skinned character depicted, lives part-time in Colorado with her ranch-hand father and with her mother in Florida. Backmatter includes fun facts about Colorado, suggesting that each book in the series will focus on a different U.S. state.
Light fare for emergent chapter-book readers who’ve exhausted the Magic Tree House series. (Adventure. 7-10)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63565-166-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A plucky mouse finds her true home in this warm, winning tale.
An orphan mouse unexpectedly arrives at Heartwood Hotel, which she hopes will become the home she’s seeking.
Mona’s never had a home for long. After a storm forces her to flee her latest forest shelter, she discovers an enormous tree with a heart carved into its trunk. When Mona presses the heart, a door opens, and she enters the lobby of Heartwood Hotel, where small forest critters hibernate, eat, and celebrate in safety. The kindhearted badger proprietor, Mr. Heartwood, takes pity on homeless Mona, allowing her to stay for the fall to assist the maid, Tilly, a red squirrel. Grateful to be at Heartwood, Mona strives to prove herself despite Tilly’s unfriendly attitude. Mona’s clever approaches with a wounded songbird, an anxious skunk, and a wayward bear win Mr. Heartwood’s approval. But when Mona accidentally breaks a rule, Tilly convinces her she will be fired. As Mona secretly leaves Heartwood, she discovers marauding wolves planning to crash Heartwood’s Snow Festival and devises a daring plan to save the place she regards as home. Charming anthropomorphic characters, humorous mishaps, and outside threats add to the drama. Delicate pencil illustrations reinforce Heartwood’s cozy home theme. A sequel, The Greatest Gift, publishes simultaneously.
A plucky mouse finds her true home in this warm, winning tale. (Animal fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: July 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-3161-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
This fractured fairy tale features a hip contemporary voice but relies too heavily on relayed history. Opening with a line that captures both context and fabulously sardonic attitude—“Once upon a time, Jack wouldn’t have been caught dead in a princess rescue”—Riley quickly establishes his protagonists: Jack, pragmatic but mopey, waiting for any chance to rescue a princess, and May, sporting blue-streaked hair, a cell phone and a Punk Princess T-shirt, who has dropped in from another realm. Jack assumes that May’s a princess; May knows only that her grandmother was kidnapped. They set out to rescue grandma, picking up an elegant prince who annoys Jack by being competent. May’s voice is more often feistily modern (“Then you went and got eaten! What’s that about!?”) than stilted (she describes grandma as “[s]o full of life”), but she's positioned within the narrative mainly to be fought over and protected. Unfortunately, plot twists and revelations all derive their meaning from past events in Jack’s world, forcing the text to be so expository that emotional investment never quite catches up. (Fantasy. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4169-9593-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
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