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
Another zippy charmer—no Quibbles here.
The mad scientist Porch sisters finally face off against the abominable (and newly reanimated) Talon Sharktūth.
Following their escapades at the titular hotel in Secrets of the Purple Pearl (2025), sisters Dee-Dee, Eugenia, and Gertrude, who are adopted, find themselves swept up in another adventure with the Lavinias, Aunt Desdemona, and their 98-year-old Grantie Lettuce in ParisToo, which is “like Paris but smaller, and it’s in upstate New York.” Of course, the girls’ beloved mentor and teacher, Millicent Quibb, pops in and out, both warning and helping the trio. The Porches are Apocryphs, and each one has a unique power. Their sightseeing trip around ParisToo feels a bit too convenient, and as suspicious coincidences mount (along with sightings of members of the KRA, the shadowy cabal that revived Sharktūth), the girls suspect that something sinister is afoot. They eventually learn the truth of Sharktūth’s scheme, but can they stop him and the KRA before it’s too late? This third series entry satisfyingly answers many of the lingering questions of its predecessors. With all the zest and zeal of a caffeinated squirrel, this installment delivers the series’ patented quirkiness and giggle-generating plotlines, footnotes, and illustrations. Millicent Quibb wisely opines that “it takes much bravery, to be different…but really, if no one dared to do it, who would save the day?” This is an endearing tale of found family and believing in oneself, with an ending that hints at further adventures.
Another zippy charmer—no Quibbles here. (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780316555814
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
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
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