Since the publication of The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups (1998), Wisniewski has been dodging the law while continuing his lonely crusade to expose the truth behind those meaningless grown-up rules. The world may rest easy; he has resurfaced long enough to bring more of this duplicity to light. Disguised as the Tooth Fairy, he discovers that the real reason we should brush our teeth is to keep them from starting tooth riots; disguised as a feather duster, he discovers that the real reason we should clean under our beds is to prevent the proliferation of killer dust bunnies; disguised as a mop, he discovers that the real reason we shouldn’t stay in the bath too long is to keep from going down the drain; and so on. The dauntless secret agent employs his X-acto knife to great effect, detailing the prunification of a sleeping bather and the potbellied trapezoid of the four cruddy food groups (salt, grease, sugar, and fat, which when ingested in excess result in brainjacking—shades of the Twinkie defense). Other media occasionally enhance the cut-paper collages; the killer dust bunny, for instance, is a marvelous menace made up of what appears to be actual dust, with gold foil teeth and Cheerio eyes. Those familiar with the first exposé of adult rule-making will recognize that there is absolutely nothing new about this offering; it simply repeats the format and formula of its predecessor while losing some of its zany freshness. It is also only nominally subversive: while couched fancifully, the description of Ginger Vitus’s depredations on teeth and gums would be at home in any dentist’s office. Still, middle-grade kids seem to eat this stuff up, and this will likely move briskly, especially where the first has had success. (Picture book. 7-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-17854-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2001
Gentle, encouraging, witty fantasy that may soothe readers suffering from climate anxiety.
Children with magical talking steam trains are thrilled by their clever new plan to rescue endangered animals.
Eleven-year-old Kate absolutely adores her secret job—helping animals in need by using the magical locomotive that was a gift from her billionaire wizard uncle. Kate loves riding the Silver Arrow with Uncle Herbert; her brother, Tom; and the talking animals they escort to safe places. But now Uncle Herbert is missing, 9-year-old Tom seems more interested in hapkido than their supernatural train, and Kate’s struggling socially and academically thanks to her eco-anxiety. No matter how many animals she helps, no matter how many adults proclaim that climate change is a critical issue, the environment keeps getting worse. One night Kate discovers another train driving on the magical railroad: The Golden Swift is conducted by her classmate Jag, who thinks rescuing stranded creatures isn’t sufficiently radical. When Kate joins him, she feels more inspired and more righteous than ever before. This time, she’s actually making the world better! Kate’s unhappy discoveries of unintended consequences and the moral complexities of her activism are softened by humor. The snarky banter of the talking locomotive is an understated delight, as is the train constructed with, among others, candy and ice cream cars, an invisible car, and a dojo car. Kate and Tom are White; Jag is described as having dark skin and black hair and possibly being Indian. Charming illustrations enhance the text.
Gentle, encouraging, witty fantasy that may soothe readers suffering from climate anxiety. (Fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: May 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-28354-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A well-meaning effort at exploring censorship that doesn’t quite hit the mark.
A districtwide book ban sparks a protest in this follow-up to The Arabic Quilt (2020).
Kanzi, an Egyptian immigrant, and her classmates are dismayed to learn that a number of diverse stories—defined as “books showing people of many identities, backgrounds, and walks of life” —have been removed from their library and classrooms (oddly, these titles appear to have been confined to a single “diverse books” section). Not finding any books that reflect her identity, Kanzi retreats into her poetry notebook. A class discussion leads Kanzi to suggest a bake sale, with proceeds going to purchase banned books for the diverse community’s Little Free Libraries. Later, as she and her grandmother Teita bake baklawa, Teita draws a connection between this protest and those she marched in during the 2011 Egyptian uprising, impressing on Kanzi the need to raise her voice. The book takes on an all-too-relevant topic—indeed, the author’s note discusses how this tale was inspired by a real-life attempt at banning The Arabic Quilt in 2021. However, it suffers from rushed pacing and didactic writing. It’s not clear why the ban is reversed so quickly or why the books were removed to begin with. The librarian’s explanation that “some books are so powerful that they intimidate people” is a misguided statement at odds with the story’s message that books centering marginalized identities are especially being targeted. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A well-meaning effort at exploring censorship that doesn’t quite hit the mark. (recipe) (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9780884489672
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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