A nimble trot to a joyous finish.
A secret portal to the home world of the unicorns brings Sam and her long-lost mother back together in this trilogy closer.
The revelation in the previous episode that her mom, who disappeared 10 years ago, might still be alive sends Sam slipping away from her overprotective dad to open a portal on fog-shrouded Unicorn Island. She and friends Tuck (a human boy) and Barloc (a unicorn) pass through. On the other side, they find the villagers of Crag Haven packing up to flee because the unicorns, whose ground up horns counteract the poison in the local river’s water, have been hunted to extinction—by, shockingly, Sam’s own mother, Sylvie. Can Sam not only protect Barloc, but also save the villagers and, most difficult of all, persuade Sylvie to give up her new life for her former one? Galanti poses her young unicorn protector some tough challenges, all of which are successfully met (without harm done to any two- or four-legged cast members) on the way to a tearful parental reunion and, as is the author’s wont, a series of informational appendices on relevant topics from equine colic and horseback riding to the healing properties of unicorn horns in legend and the importance of pure water. Sam and the unicorns alike in Stancliffe’s neatly finished illustrations shake out lyrically flowing locks, and the luridly green river looks properly noxious.
A nimble trot to a joyous finish. (Fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781524878702
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though the lessons weigh more heavily than in The One and Only Ivan, a potential disappointment to its fans, the story is...
Applegate tackles homelessness in her first novel since 2013 Newbery winner The One and Only Ivan.
Hunger is a constant for soon-to-be fifth-grader Jackson and his family, and the accompanying dizziness may be why his imaginary friend is back. A giant cat named Crenshaw first appeared after Jackson finished first grade, when his parents moved the family into their minivan for several months. Now they’re facing eviction again, and Jackson’s afraid that he won’t be going to school next year with his friend Marisol. When Crenshaw shows up on a surfboard, Jackson, an aspiring scientist who likes facts, wonders whether Crenshaw is real or a figment of his imagination. Jackson’s first-person narrative moves from the present day, when he wishes that his parents understood that he’s old enough to hear the truth about the family’s finances, to the first time they were homeless and back to the present. The structure allows readers access to the slow buildup of Jackson’s panic and his need for a friend and stability in his life. Crenshaw tells Jackson that “Imaginary friends don’t come of their own volition. We are invited. We stay as long as we’re needed.” The cat’s voice, with its adult tone, is the conduit for the novel’s lessons: “You need to tell the truth, my friend….To the person who matters most of all.”
Though the lessons weigh more heavily than in The One and Only Ivan, a potential disappointment to its fans, the story is nevertheless a somberly affecting one . (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-04323-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after.
Drake has been selected by the king to serve as a Dragon Master, quite a change for an 8-year-old farmer boy.
The dragons are a secret, and the reason King Roland has them is a mystery, but what is clear is that the Dragon Stone has identified Drake as one of the rare few children who have a special connection with dragons and the ability to serve as a trainer. Drake’s dragon is a long brown creature with, at first, no particular talents that Drake can identify. He calls the dragon Worm. It isn’t long before Drake begins to realize he has a very strong connection with Worm and can share what seem to be his dragon’s thoughts. After one of the other Dragon Masters decides to illicitly take the dragons outside, disaster strikes. The cave they are passing through collapses, blocking the passageway, and then Worm’s special talent becomes evident. The first of a new series of early chapter books, this entry is sure to attract fans. Brief chapters, large print, lots of action, attractive illustrations in every spread, including a maplike panorama, an enviable protagonist—who wouldn’t want to be a Dragon Master?—all combine to make an entertaining read.
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-64624-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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