A lovely story of using empathy to work through culture clashes.
Sasquatch Hugo and human Boone deal with monsters, stereotypes, and cultural misunderstandings in the follow-up to Big Foot and Little Foot (2018).
After three years spent collecting wrappers from Mad Marvin’s Monster Cards, Hugo has finally saved up enough to send in for a prize. What arrives is a wristwatch-style monster detector filled with weechie-weechie moths that will flap their wings noisily when monsters are near. Exploring Widdershins Cavern in search of monsters, the detector guides Hugo to a secret entrance to the Big Wide World—where green fur and bones indicate the presence of the Green Whistler, a creature rumored to eat young squidges like him. Meanwhile, home-schooled Boone turns up at the Academy for Curious Squidges, wanting to attend; while only one of the sasquatch kids is openly prejudiced against humans, Boone endures an escalating string of misunderstandings that’s ended only by another crisis—the reappearance of the Green Whistler. Budding cryptozoologists Boone and Hugo pursue only to discover one last misunderstanding and a family history of cross-species friendship. The sasquatch humor and heroes’ earnestness make for a compelling story with natural flow, and the turnabout scenarios in which white Boone operates as a minority among the sasquatches are thoughtfully done.
A lovely story of using empathy to work through culture clashes. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3122-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
