Standard-issue girlie wish fulfillment.
A unicorn-loving girl goes to a magical world to help a unicorn princess.
When wizard-lizard Ernest botches a spell, he accidentally causes one of the unicorn royals, Princess Sunbeam, to lose her magic yellow sapphire, which is the source of her powers. The only way to reverse the spell is for a human girl to venture to the Rainbow Realm, find the gemstone, and return it—with a catch: only those who believe in unicorns can see them. All this information comes in the first chapter through not-so-graceful exposition. Luckily for the Rainbow Realm, unicorn-obsessed Cressida Jenkins (who has straight, dark hair but is otherwise racially ambiguous) finds the magical key dropped by Sunbeam while Sunbeam was searching for a girl to help, bringing them together and Cressida to the Rainbow Realm. After more exposition about the unicorn princesses and their magical roles (Sunbeam’s is to provide sunlight), and a not-so-nice joke about malodorous human boys, Cressida and Sunbeam head to the desert Glitter Canyon, where they converse with talking sand dunes and cacti (who are in a feud). Between the clunky exposition, precious prose, and flimsy characterization, this comes across as just so much cotton candy. Sequel Flash’s Dash publishes simultaneously.
Standard-issue girlie wish fulfillment. (Fantasy. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68119-325-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
Except for the chocolate cure, it’s much like trying to care for an oversized cat…that, OK, breathes fire.
Caring for a traveling relative’s pet isn’t usually quite so…fraught.
In a series of increasingly frantic email messages to his oddly unresponsive uncle Morton, young Edward Smith-Pickle recounts a series of household mishaps caused by the large dragon so hastily dropped off to mind for a week. For one thing, the animal isn’t housetrained. For another, what does it even eat—besides little sister Emily’s bunny? In the wake of incidents ranging from scorched curtains to a hole torn in the refrigerator, Edward’s disgusted mom would happily foist the beast off on the police or the zoo, if only they didn’t keep hanging up on her. But worse disasters are warded off when Uncle Morton at last writes back to suggest feeding the creature chocolate, and the dragon is instantly transformed from surly headache into a charming, compliant companion. Good thing, because Uncle Morton has upcoming junkets planned, and this short opener, first published overseas in 2012, already has four sequels either out or planned. Amid Edward’s pleas and Morton’s soothing replies, Parsons intersperses large scenes of domestic chaos, frowning (later smiling) people, and an inscrutable, horse-sized dragon flopped bonelessly on the sofa.
Except for the chocolate cure, it’s much like trying to care for an oversized cat…that, OK, breathes fire. (Farce. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-316-29896-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Visually lively with an engaging story; here’s hoping the next installment exhibits greater diversity.
Following The Not-So Itty-Bitty Spiders (2015), twins Olive and Beatrix return for another adventure featuring magic and science in this illustrated early chapter book.
Olive (“an ordinary girl,” as she informs readers—Olive narrates the story) and her best friend, Eddie, love science, and they look forward to presenting their projects at the school’s annual science fair. But Beatrix, who is a witch, uses her magic powers to create projects that always win the blue ribbon. This year though, Olive has worked extra hard and is certain she will win. On the day of the fair, the twins carry their projects (“the exciting world of MOLD” and “cloud made with science”) to school early and jostle for the same display table—and both projects crash to the ground. Olive’s mold and Beatrix’s cloud combine to create an out-of-control slime that the twins and Eddie must use their combined resources to combat. The story has imaginative action and characters that model working together and respecting each other’s talents despite philosophical differences, but it lacks notably diverse characters. Just showing a few characters as grayish doesn’t make an impact. The book’s visual format is lively, combining spot illustrations with full-page and double-page spreads and dialogue bubbles.
Visually lively with an engaging story; here’s hoping the next installment exhibits greater diversity. (activities) (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: March 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-81485-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 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.
