A thrilling, inspiring tale of bravery and family.
A young elephant must reconnect with his herd and face his fears in this middle-grade novel.
Thunder, an African pygmy elephant, lives with his mother and the rest of his tribe in Africa. Every day, the tribe wanders through the savannah looking for food while Thunder and his friends play. The young elephant is particularly close to his mother, who teaches him all he needs to know, including how to communicate and act within the herd and how to protect himself from dangers that surround him—especially the “Uprights,” which is what elephants call humans. He leads a happy life until a poacher named Drago decides that he wants the elephants—and the rest of their animal friends—for himself. Drago captures some of them, but when his vehicle crashes, Thunder and a parrot named Penelope escape. The terrified Thunder misses his loved ones, but Soma, a tough-as-nails rhino, offers to help, and they all set off on a quest to find Thunder’s herd. Of course, it’s not easy, as weather and other wild beasts make the journey difficult; also, Drago is still set on capturing as many beasts as possible. Will Thunder make it back to his mother, or will Drago destroy his herd before he can find it? Shein andReker (The Forgotten Ornament, 2012, etc.) paint quite a harrowing picture at times; Thunder’s quest is a stressful one, and some children may feel overwhelmed if they read it all in one sitting. That being said, the whole book is a lesson in perseverance and determination, which readers of all ages could stand to learn. The prose is thick with lovely descriptions of Thunder’s home and the various places he visits, and his fears will be relatable to the younger set. The story is also a great introduction to the concept of preserving the planet and its species. In a wonderful touch, an appendix gives contact information for a variety of organizations that are trying to stop the practice of poaching and protect the environment. Hopefully, this work will inspire young and old readers alike to do their parts to help save the beautiful creatures of Africa.
A thrilling, inspiring tale of bravery and family.Pub Date: March 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62989-563-5
Page Count: 222
Publisher: World Castle Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Not for the faint-hearted—who are mostly adults anyway—but for stouthearted kids who love a brush with the sinister:...
A magnificently creepy fantasy pits a bright, bored little girl against a soul-eating horror that inhabits the reality right next door.
Coraline’s parents are loving, but really too busy to play with her, so she amuses herself by exploring her family’s new flat. A drawing-room door that opens onto a brick wall becomes a natural magnet for the curious little girl, and she is only half-surprised when, one day, the door opens onto a hallway and Coraline finds herself in a skewed mirror of her own flat, complete with skewed, button-eyed versions of her own parents. This is Gaiman’s (American Gods, 2001, etc.) first novel for children, and the author of the Sandman graphic novels here shows a sure sense of a child’s fears—and the child’s ability to overcome those fears. “I will be brave,” thinks Coraline. “No, I am brave.” When Coraline realizes that her other mother has not only stolen her real parents but has also stolen the souls of other children before her, she resolves to free her parents and to find the lost souls by matching her wits against the not-mother. The narrative hews closely to a child’s-eye perspective: Coraline never really tries to understand what has happened or to fathom the nature of the other mother; she simply focuses on getting her parents back and thwarting the other mother for good. Her ability to accept and cope with the surreality of the other flat springs from the child’s ability to accept, without question, the eccentricity and arbitrariness of her own—and every child’s own—reality. As Coraline’s quest picks up its pace, the parallel world she finds herself trapped in grows ever more monstrous, generating some deliciously eerie descriptive writing.
Not for the faint-hearted—who are mostly adults anyway—but for stouthearted kids who love a brush with the sinister: Coraline is spot on. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: July 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-380-97778-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2002
SEEN & HEARD
This should send Dark Knight fans flying to the Batcave—or the bedroom.
Holy bedtime, Batman!
In a sleepy-looking neighborhood under a dusky cerulean sky, a young, brown-haired, white boy goes through the motions of getting ready for bed: he brushes his teeth, takes a bath, picks up his toys, and feeds his fish. In a parallel visual narrative, beckoned by the cat's-eye–yellow bat-signal, Batman keeps Gotham safe for another night by catching crooks, locking them away, and avenging those who have been wronged. Though the two characters are quite different, through a carefully flexible narrative, Dahl and Beavers weave a convincing tale of just how similar they might be. “It’s time to take care of business” describes the child’s trip to the potty and Batman’s dive down a manhole equally well, for instance. Beavers' art is visually striking and vibrantly hued, perfect for keeping young eyes glued to each page. Dahl's economical text is cadenced with a gentle lilt, just right for a bedtime read-aloud. Young fans of the caped crusader will delight in spying their favorite characters. In the already-overstuffed bedtime-book market, this is certainly a niche read, but it hits its mark well, delivering fun without darkness. A “bedtime checklist” at the end aptly includes “story time.”
This should send Dark Knight fans flying to the Batcave—or the bedroom. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62370-732-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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