Space Cadet Topo and his trusty sidekick Tinny Bot Girl set off to rescue the universe after the sun goes dark and cold. DGPH represents the trio of Argentinean designers who created Molestown, an animated game on the Internet, images from which have been used in prints, toys, T-shirts and accessories worldwide. This, the first book in English to use Molestown characters, features a standard video-game plot and some very loose science, including the curious idea that the sun warms our whole galaxy. Several pages are devoted to introducing the neighborhood, Topo’s home in the Donut Station, his job and the robots that help him, but eventually the story, “Mission 215,” begins. Topo has one hour to turn on the sun. Full-bleed full-color cartoons show them zipping through deep space to the last planet in the galaxy to retrieve the burning matchstick called “the galactic flame” and back to descend deep into the sun, facing down the monster guardian of the sun’s core, in order to relight its fire. Only for pre-existing fans of the game and merchandise this book so nakedly shills. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59702-022-0
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Immedium
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2010
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION
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In a video game, a superpowered rabbit must rescue a singing dog that brings everyone happiness.
In the frame story, a brown-skinned human protagonist plays a video game on a handheld console evocative of the classic Nintendo Gameboy. The bulk of the book relates the game’s storyline: Animal Town is a peaceful place where everyone is delighted by Singing Dog, until the fun-hating King Viking (whose black-mustachioed, pink-skinned looks reference the Super Mario Brothers game series villain, Wario) uses his army of robots to abduct Singing Dog. To save Singing Dog—and fun—the animals send the fastest among them, Simon the Hedgehog, to get Super Rabbit Boy (who gains speed and jumping powers by eating special carrots) to save the day. The chapters take Super Rabbit Boy through video game levels, with classic, video game–style settings and enemies. Throughout the book, when the game’s player loses either a life in the game or the game entirely, the unnamed kid must choose to persevere and not give up. The storylines are differentiated by colorful art styles—cartoonish for the real world, 8-bit pixel-sprite–style for the game. The fast, repetitive plot uses basic, simple sentences and child-friendly objects of interest, such as lakes of lava, for children working on reading independence, while the nerdy in-jokes benefit adults reading with a child.
A strong series start. (Early reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-03472-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION
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Princess Magnolia’s perfect birthday party’s threatened by constant monster alarms, summoning her secret identity again and again.
Prim, proper Princess Magnolia is all decked out in her pink finery, awaiting the arrival of a dozen ethnically diverse fellow-princess party guests for her birthday when her monster-alarm ring goes off. She changes attire and personas, becoming the heroic Princess in Black. Working swiftly, she saves a goat from a hungry monster and gets back to her palace in time to welcome her guests. But just when she thinks she’s in the clear and ready to open her presents, off goes her monster-alarm ring again! This pattern—Magnolia is just about to open presents when her alarm goes off, she comes up with a distraction for the princesses, defeats a monster, and returns just in time—continues through the book. It’s enhanced by visual gags, such as Magnolia’s increasingly flustered appearance, and hilarious depictions of the various ways monsters try to eat goats, from between giant pieces of bread to in a giant ice cream cone. A side character, the fittingly named Princess Sneezewort, frequently comes close to discovering Magnolia’s secret. In the end, Magnolia can’t take the constant interruptions anymore, yelling at a monster that it’s her birthday—the monster, abashed, ends up helping her in one last distraction for the other princesses.
A chuckle-inducing, entirely worthy stand-alone follow-up to the terrific The Princess in Black (2014). (Fantasy. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6511-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION
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