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I, FREDDY

Name: I, FREDDY
Author: Dietlof Reiche
ISBN: 0-439-28356-6

by Dietlof Reiche & illustrated by Joe Cepeda & translated by John Brownjohn ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2003

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Literature becomes liberator in this story of a golden hamster who wants more from life than an exercise wheel. Purchased to be the pet of a little girl named Sophie, Freddy teaches himself to read and to leave his cage at will (he’s typing the story on his owner’s computer). When Sophie’s mother’s hamster-hostility banishes him to the home of a translator of books, he negotiates the society of Sir William the cat and Enrico and Caruso, the rhyming guinea pigs—and realizes his destiny as a reader and a writer (using his new owner’s computer). Fleshing out this slim story are fairly beguiling details of insight into hamster behavior and priorities and Cepeda’s amusing black-and-white spot illustrations of the blocky, self-important hamster as he conquers his world. The story rather quickly becomes a one-note joke, however, that being Freddy’s unrelievedly arch voice—a tedious joke at that. There are five Freddy books in Germany; let’s hope that the others offer more than this one. (Fiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: May 1, 2003

ISBN: 0-439-28356-6

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2003

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
GHOST SHIP
by Dietlof Reiche & translated by John Brownjohn

- BOOK REVIEW
FREDDY IN PERIL
by Dietlof Reiche & translated by John Brownjohn & illustrated by Joe Cepeda

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THE WILD ROBOT PROTECTS

From the Wild Robot series , Vol. 3

by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
UNSETTLING SALAD!
by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
TROUBLING TONSILS!
by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WILD ROBOT ON THE ISLAND
by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown

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WOMBAT WAITING

by Katherine Applegate ; illustrated by Jen Bricking ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2026

Affecting and hopeful.

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A stray dog finds her destiny amid the chaos of a Southern California wildfire.

Wombat is a small dog with stubby legs and “silly ears / that look like furry cookies”—almost impossibly cute in Bricking’s occasional pencil-style vignettes. She’s mastered the art of survival, so when a mysterious internal voice prods her to go toward the fire, she resists. “The wrong way is the right way. / The right way is the wrong way,” the voice insists. When she tells fellow stray Silas about it, he tells Wombat she’s a “destiny dog,” bound to “find their person / before their person / can find them.” Convinced, she decides to follow the mysterious instructions. Meanwhile, Henry, a boy who’s leery of dogs, loves the bats at the wildlife rehabilitation center where Mama Ro, a veterinarian, works; his Mama J is a librarian. Henry and Barnabas, a fruit bat at the center, are both uprooted by the fire, and their paths converge with Wombat’s at an emergency shelter. The third-person perspective shifts from character to character in clusters of free-verse poems that fully immerse readers in each one’s experiences in turn. This extra-concentrated delivery of Applegate’s typically spare writing proves effective, balancing terror and sadness with heart and humor. Henry has light brown skin, Mama Ro has curly black hair and brown skin, and Mama J presents white.

Affecting and hopeful. (Verse fiction. 8-12)