by Diane Bradley ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2014
More enjoyable escapades for Henry and company in this delightful summertime series.
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In Bradley’s (Wilder’s Edge, 2013) YA sequel, a summer of adventure continues for cousins Henry and Dylan and their friend Arla when a job of running supplies on a lake near the U.S.-Canada border puts them in the middle of some shady goings-on.
Teenager Henry usually spends only a week at the Minnesota cabin with his cousin’s family, but this year, it’s the entire summer. He and Dylan are grounded (a carry-over from the previous book), but Dylan’s dad, Mike, lets the boys deliver supplies to cabins on Rainy Lake. The two, along with Arla, can’t stay away from trouble; they respond to screams coming from Turtle Island and save a bear cub. Near the border, they find an old mink farm and empty cages, but they realize something’s wrong when, inside a seemingly abandoned cabin, someone traps them by slamming the door shut. Meanwhile, strange but affectionate local resident “the king” knows for sure that illegal activity is afoot, having found mysterious, large plastic coolers. And the situation later becomes dire for the teens when one of them goes missing. Bradley’s quick, appealing novel is boosted by illustrative descriptions of the surrounding wilderness—towering pines “coated in green moss” and bundles of blueberry bushes—and even the food, such as the “thick and creamy” chocolate or wild strawberries mixed with vanilla ice cream that Arla’s grandmother sells at her store, the Last Stop. Henry is a laudable protagonist; he knows a lot less about fishing or boating than his bulkier cousin, but he’s a lovable nerd more comfortable at science camp, so it’s painted as a shame that new Last Stop employee Rika keeps her attention solely on Dylan and largely ignores Henry. The king’s “protectors,” dogs Freya and Odin, nearly steal the story in sheer cuteness; their master, eyeing a suspiciously low-flying plane, tries to move stealthily through the woods, and the canines belly-crawl behind him. There are subtle references to the author’s prior novel to pique reader interest—in a callback, the book opens with the two boys retrieving Dylan’s boat motor from the bottom of the lake—as well as a good number of suspects to deepen the mystery, from a man who’s served time in prison to the returning, and rather unpleasant, Helgason brothers.
More enjoyable escapades for Henry and company in this delightful summertime series.Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-87839-760-0
Page Count: 182
Publisher: North Star Press of St. Cloud
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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by Dav Pilkey & illustrated by Dav Pilkey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 28, 2012
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey
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