Between the mesmerizing art and contemplative verse, readers will be drawn in.
With help from a supportive father, a child vanquishes his inner demons in this follow-up to Drawn Onward (2024).
Inside a fairy-tale castle, a distressed youngster’s big feelings fracture (apparently the result of a devastating personal loss), and his cozy home transforms into a terrifying landscape. Despite brave attempts to navigate it alone, he becomes increasingly dysregulated. His foes, among them lurid, flower-faced guards, a ghostly apparition, and an ominous, dragonlike specter, all “[find] him wanting.” Fortunately, Dad arrives to guide his dispirited son. Using the five senses as touchstones, Dad suggests various sensorial grounding techniques to “tame the voices.” The monsters are rendered harmless, and the boy’s discord is soothed. In an appended note, Nayeri identifies his narrative as a pantoum poem, made up of lines that interweave, interlace and repeat. Discovering the poem’s pulse requires a leap of faith, but once immersed, readers will savor its enchanting cadence. Dark, compelling, and a bit mysterious, Rockefeller's audacious illustrations are a perfect counterpoint to the pensive text. Relying on comics-style linework and digital color, he contrasts foreboding backgrounds with animated bursts of opulent rainbow sherbet color, all while centering the child’s poignant facial expressions through his emotional journey. Readers will be entranced by the fantastical worldbuilding and otherworldly, mystical elements that reflect the young protagonist’s conflicted inner emotions. Father and son have tan skin.
Between the mesmerizing art and contemplative verse, readers will be drawn in. (Picture book. 5-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780063277182
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
