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
The book is a cute, but rather standard offering from Avi (Tom, Babette, and Simon, p. 776, etc.).
An adolescent mouse named Poppy is off on a romantic tryst with her rebel boyfriend when they are attacked by Mr. Ocax, the owl who rules over the area.
He kills the boyfriend, but Poppy escapes and Mr. Ocax vows to catch her. Mr. Ocax has convinced all the mice that he is their protector when, in fact, he preys on them mercilessly. When the mice ask his permission to move to a new house, he refuses, blaming Poppy for his decision. Poppy suspects that there is another reason Mr. Ocax doesn't want them to move and investigates to clear her name. With the help of a prickly old porcupine and her quick wits, Poppy defeats her nemesis and her own fears, saving her family in the bargain.
The book is a cute, but rather standard offering from Avi (Tom, Babette, and Simon, p. 776, etc.). (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-531-09483-9
Page Count: 147
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1995
A rare venture into contemporary fiction for Bruchac (The Circle of Thanks, p. 1529, etc.), this disappointing tale of a young Mohawk transplanted to Brooklyn, N.Y., is overstuffed with plotlines, lectures, and cultural information. Danny Bigtree gets jeers, or the cold shoulder, from his fourth-grade classmates, until his ironworker father sits him down to relate—at length- -the story of the great Mohawk peacemaker Aionwahta (Hiawatha), then comes to school to talk about the Iroquois Confederacy and its influence on our country's Founding Fathers. Later, Danny's refusal to tattle when Tyrone, the worst of his tormenters, accidentally hits him in the face with a basketball breaks the ice for good. Two sketchy subplots: Danny runs into an old Seminole friend, who, evidently due to parental neglect, has joined a gang; after dreaming of an eagle falling from a tree, Danny learns that his father has been injured in a construction- site accident. A worthy, well-written novella—but readers cannot be moved by a story that pulls them in so many different directions. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: March 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-8037-1918-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1996
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