Rufus and Abigail are again thrust into a wild adventure as they try to stop the goblins from destroying Feylawn and the magic it holds.
The beginning of summer was exciting for Rufus Takada Collins, what with saving the fairylike feylings and helping them return to their world. But his family still wants to sell Feylawn, Grandpa Jack’s farm, and Rufus is now stuck at a two-week camp for young entrepreneurs with his cousin, Abigail. One day, when the cousins manage to visit the farm, the feylings warn that a badness is coming and tell of four impossible tasks they must complete to save it. Their parents announce they want to sell to a man who is actually a goblin in disguise, bringing urgency to their challenge. As they get further into their quest and encounter a two-faced monster, a time cabinet, and a moving meadow, they realize there is far more to the story than they realized. Full of magical creatures, action, and adventure, this is an entertaining duology closer. With the unexpected return of familiar characters, betrayals, and a few twists, the story will keep readers on their toes. Rufus and Abigail learn real-world lessons, such as what it means to sacrifice, persevere, and be true to themselves. The previous volume established the cousins as biracial: Rufus is White and Japanese, and Abigail is White and Mexican.
An exciting, engaging read. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-374-30648-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
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Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION
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The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION
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