This Dahl-esque tale may not be quite scrumdiddlyumptious, but it’s a mostly entertaining one.
Jack and his grandfather, a former RAF pilot, are inseparable, even though Grandpa’s grasp on reality is slipping.
It’s 1983, and 12-year-old Jack adores his grandfather and the stories he tells of the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. Problem is, Grandpa lives in his stories now. Jack knows just how to talk to Grandpa: he’s Squadron Leader, and Grandpa is Wing Commander. When Grandpa is found stuck on a church steeple thinking he’s flying his plane, the vicar suggests Twilight Towers. Jack insists Grandpa never be put in a home, but after a disastrous class trip to the history museum that ends in police custody, Grandpa is carted off to Twilight Towers, which is run by the ominously named and more than a little peculiar-seeming Miss Swine. Can Jack and Grandpa effect an escape? And what is really going on with Miss Swine and her cadre of burly nurses? Walliams walks a fine line in his attempt to make dementia funny and doesn’t always succeed. Grandpa’s misunderstanding of the world around him gets repetitious. Though Jack and Grandpa have a realistic and touching relationship, Jack acts much younger than 12. The book’s use of various typefaces and fonts for emphasis and drama, plus ample illustrations from the always splendid Ross, will keep the pages in this plump volume turning, though.
This Dahl-esque tale may not be quite scrumdiddlyumptious, but it’s a mostly entertaining one. (Historical fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-256089-6
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
Furnished with a light wash of natural science, a buggy, action-oriented adventure that goes light on the gore and gross...
Budding entomologist Max Darwin makes a wish—and finds himself on Bug Island, where the local insects are threatened by an invasion of hungry reptiles and amphibians.
With little preliminary ado, Patton hands his young protagonist a fascinating old insect encyclopedia and a very special magnifying glass that shrinks him to proper size and plunks him down amid Bug Island’s beleaguered arthropods. It seems a volcanic eruption has laid a land bridge between the island and the neighboring Reptilian Empire—allowing a horde of insect-eating creatures led by roaring Gen. Komodo to cross over. Can Max use his big brain to find a way to save new friends Barton, a titan beetle, genial emperor scorpion Spike, shy trap-door spider Webster, and the rest of the island’s diverse cast of six- or eight-legged residents from becoming a buggy banquet? And will he be able to get back to his original size and home? That would be yes and yes—following plenty of furious but fatality-free fighting and some ingenious further bridge building that puts a river between the bugs and their scaly nemeses. But the war’s not over yet; stay tuned for return visits in two planned sequels. Finished illustrations not seen, but in samples, Bean draws Max as a dark-skinned, black-haired boy.
Furnished with a light wash of natural science, a buggy, action-oriented adventure that goes light on the gore and gross bits. (Fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-70741-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015
When a bull calf is born on Christmas Eve, nine-year-old Eli Stegner is awash with love and pride. This calf will be his first to train and show at the fair. Maybe he will win a blue ribbon, just like Pa and Grandpa. Yet the thought that his calf, named Little Joe, will become someone’s Sunday dinner casts a dark shadow on the tenderhearted boy’s hopes. Pa warns, “No use naming something that’s gonna get eaten.” The milestones in Little Joe’s training propel this thoughtful, character-driven story forward. The rhythm and sometimes-harsh realities of farm life are convincingly intertwined with Eli’s growing attachment to Little Joe. His overworked and careworn family offers Eli love, guidance and support, but throughout the months, Eli wonders about Pa’s brusqueness and lack of emotion toward their cows. It is only after Grandpa shares a secret that Eli understands. The ending may well please animal lovers, but it will likely seem unrealistic for those familiar with Eli’s milieu. Plenty of detail on raising livestock authenticates the story, and Elliott’s pencil sketches enhance the text. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-375-86097-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
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