Hunter debuts with a suspenseful animal adventure that will leave readers eyeing Puss a bit nervously. House kitten Rusty is restless, bored with his safe, bland existence; no wonder he jumps at an invitation to join the feral cats in the woods. Now called Firepaw, he relishes his lessons in fighting, hunting wild prey, and above all becoming one with the close-knit, ferociously loyal ThunderClan. Although some scorn his “kittypet” origins, he gains the friendship of the other apprentice kittens, approval from the wise leader Bluestar, and a peculiar bond with the battered, bad-tempered loner Yellowfang. ThunderClan maintains an uneasy truce with the three other packs in the woods until militant ShadowClan lays claim to hunting rights in all territories, a demand they swiftly back up with murderous force. Such a threat serves the dangerously ambitious ThunderClan warrior Tigerclaw well—until Tigerclaw notices young Firepaw standing in his way. This is no charming tale of sweet moggies; despite a touch of mysticism, Hunter ruthlessly rejects any hint of sentimentality. Snapping bones, flowing blood, and sudden death abundantly demonstrate how these cats walk on the thin edge of survival. But Hunter also clearly conveys the exhilaration of freedom, the stimulation of the hunt, and the strength and comfort that comes from the clan’s mutual loyalty. Teen readers will readily identify with Firepaw’s strenuous efforts to fit into the group, applaud his courage to follow his own convictions, cheer his eventual recognition by ThunderClan, and rejoice at the promised sequel. (Fantasy. 11+)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-06-000002-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish.
The dreary prospect of spending a lifetime making caskets instead of wonderful inventions prompts a young orphan to snatch up his little sister and flee. Where? To the circus, of course.
Fortunately or otherwise, John and 6-year-old Page join up with Boz—sometime human cannonball for the seedy Wandering Wayfarers and a “vertically challenged” trickster with a fantastic gift for sowing chaos. Alas, the budding engineer barely has time to settle in to begin work on an experimental circus wagon powered by chicken poop and dubbed (with questionable forethought) the Autopsy. The hot pursuit of malign and indomitable Great-Aunt Beauregard, the Coggins’ only living relative, forces all three to leave the troupe for further flights and misadventures. Teele spins her adventure around a sturdy protagonist whose love for his little sister is matched only by his fierce desire for something better in life for them both and tucks in an outstanding supporting cast featuring several notably strong-minded, independent women (Page, whose glare “would kill spiders dead,” not least among them). Better yet, in Boz she has created a scene-stealing force of nature, a free spirit who’s never happier than when he’s stirring up mischief. A climactic clutch culminating in a magnificently destructive display of fireworks leaves the Coggin sibs well-positioned for bright futures. (Illustrations not seen.)
A sly, side-splitting hoot from start to finish. (Adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234510-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Bishop’s spectacular photographs of the tiny red-eyed tree frog defeat an incidental text from Cowley (Singing Down the Rain, 1997, etc.). The frog, only two inches long, is enormous in this title; it appears along with other nocturnal residents of the rain forests of Central America, including the iguana, ant, katydid, caterpillar, and moth. In a final section, Cowley explains how small the frog is and aspects of its life cycle. The main text, however, is an afterthought to dramatic events in the photos, e.g., “But the red-eyed tree frog has been asleep all day. It wakes up hungry. What will it eat? Here is an iguana. Frogs do not eat iguanas.” Accompanying an astonishing photograph of the tree frog leaping away from a boa snake are three lines (“The snake flicks its tongue. It tastes frog in the air. Look out, frog!”) that neither advance nor complement the action. The layout employs pale and deep green pages and typeface, and large jewel-like photographs in which green and red dominate. The combination of such visually sophisticated pages and simplistic captions make this a top-heavy, unsatisfying title. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-87175-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
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