Nefarious doings call for heroic behavior from a young werewolf and his sparkly fairy sidekick in this easy-reading series kickoff. Resident at the shelter run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Beasts, Ulf makes himself useful by tending to the injured or displaced trolls, phoenixes, “wartolumps,” “biganasties” and other supposedly mythical creatures on the grounds. Trouble arrives with the discovery of a baby dragon’s corpse and the appearance of a mysterious Inspector, who announces that an unknown criminal is setting up a “Ring of Horrors” in which stolen beasts will fight each other to the death. Highlighted by a gory dragon autopsy but hampered by a skimpy set of illustrations, the tale rolls along to an exciting climax and just deserts for all. The Bad Guy turns out to be the fiendish son of the RSPCB’s founder; though carried off by a dragon here, he returns for more evildoing in Book Two, Sea Monsters and Other Delicacies (ISBN: 978-1-4169-8650-2). Fans of Philip Ardagh’s yarns or Cressida Cowell’s dragon tales will happily sink their claws into these. (Fantasy. 9-11)
Pub Date: April 28, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4169-8649-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2009
Printed on heavy, coated stock, with wide floral borders adding further notes of luxury, these three complete tales from Kipling’s classic, with attendant verses, get both sumptuous packaging and a generous helping of small, finely detailed illustrations. This treatment not only captures the action and exotic locales, but, most expressively, the power and beauty of the wolves, Bagheera, Balloo and the other animals among whom young Mowgli is raised. As always, Kipling’s measured prose and poetry is a treat to read alone or, especially, aloud; here the story of Mowgli’s education in the Law of the Jungle, his first try at living among humankind, his kidnapping by the Monkey People, and his triumph over the tiger Shere Khan will keep young audiences rapt. An ideal replacement for the edition of these tales illustrated by Inga Moore (1992), and other edited versions. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: June 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-7636-2317-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2005
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote...
Two republished tales by a Greco-Cherokee author feature both folkloric and modern elements as well as new illustrations.
One of the two has never been offered south of the (Canadian) border. In “Coyote Sings to the Moon,” the doo-wop hymn sung nightly by Old Woman and all the animals except tone-deaf Coyote isn’t enough to keep Moon from hiding out at the bottom of the lake—until she is finally driven forth by Coyote’s awful wailing. She has been trying to return to the lake ever since, but that piercing howl keeps her in the sky. In “Coyote’s New Suit” he is schooled in trickery by Raven, who convinces him to steal the pelts of all the other animals while they’re bathing, sends the bare animals to take clothes from the humans’ clothesline, and then sets the stage for a ruckus by suggesting that Coyote could make space in his overcrowded closet by having a yard sale. No violence ensues, but from then to now humans and animals have not spoken to one another. In Eggenschwiler’s monochrome scenes Coyote and the rest stand on hind legs and (when stripped bare) sport human limbs. Old Woman might be Native American; the only other completely human figure is a pale-skinned girl.
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote tales. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55498-833-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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