A phobic 10-year-old is trapped in a library of animated literary classics in this earnest, handsomely set out, but uninspired tale from Hanna-Barbera's CEO (creator of ``An American Tail'') and a staff writer. Fleeing a thunderstorm, Richie Tyler comes on a large building guarded by marble lions; inside, ``Mr. Dewey'' hands him a library card and sends him into the shadowy stacks, where he falls in with three stubby-limbed companions- -''Adventure,'' in eyepatch and bandanna, motherly ``Fantasy,'' and purple, self-pitying ``Horror.'' Together, they witness Captain Ahab's climactic encounter with Moby Dick, are held prisoner by Long John Silver, and flee on a magic carpet from a fire-breathing dragon, among other brief encounters. The heavy, coated stock and big, bright illustrations give the book a substantial feel at odds with its contents; the authors capture little of the flavor or spirit of their sources (and have a strange idea of what 10-year- olds want to read). The writing can be bombastic (``Fiction A to Z!...The place where a child's imagination can take root and grow to incredible heights!''), and Richie is a cartoon character at best. Looking for a fictive gateway to good books? Entice readers with Anne Lindbergh's imaginative Travel Far, Pay No Fare (1992). (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1993
ISBN: 1-878685-43-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1993
A world-class charmer, Clements (The Janitor’s Boy, 2000, etc.) woos aspiring young authors—as well as grown up publishers, editors, agents, parents, teachers, and even reviewers—with this tongue-in-cheek tale of a 12-year-old novelist’s triumphant debut. Sparked by a chance comment of her mother’s, a harried assistant editor for a (surely fictional) children’s imprint, Natalie draws on deep reserves of feeling and writing talent to create a moving story about a troubled schoolgirl and her father. First, it moves her pushy friend Zoe, who decides that it has to be published; then it moves a timorous, second-year English teacher into helping Zoe set up a virtual literary agency; then, submitted pseudonymously, it moves Natalie’s unsuspecting mother into peddling it to her waspish editor-in-chief. Depicting the world of children’s publishing as a delicious mix of idealism and office politics, Clements squires the manuscript past slush pile and contract, the editing process, and initial buzz (“The Cheater grabs hold of your heart and never lets go,” gushes Kirkus). Finally, in a tearful, joyous scene—carefully staged by Zoe, who turns out to be perfect agent material: cunning, loyal, devious, manipulative, utterly shameless—at the publication party, Natalie’s identity is revealed as news cameras roll. Selznick’s gnomic, realistic portraits at once reflect the tale’s droll undertone and deftly capture each character’s distinct personality. Terrific for flourishing school writing projects, this is practical as well as poignant. Indeed, it “grabs hold of yourheart and never lets go.” (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-82594-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
“Hear, and listen well, my friends, and I will tell you a tale that has been told for a thousand years and more.” It’s not exactly a rarely told tale, either, though this complete rendition is distinguished by both handsome packaging and a prose narrative that artfully mixes alliterative language reminiscent of the original, with currently topical references to, for instance, Grendel’s “endless terror raids,” and the “holocaust at Heorot.” Along with being printed on heavy stock and surrounded by braided borders, the text is paired to colorful scenes featuring a small human warrior squaring off with a succession of grimacing but not very frightening monsters in battles marked by but a few discreet splashes of blood. Morpurgo puts his finger on the story’s enduring appeal—“we still fear the evil that stalks out there in the darkness . . . ”—but offers a version unlikely to trouble the sleep of more sensitive readers or listeners. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7636-3206-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
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