Originally funded by a Kickstarter, this reinvention of Shakespeare’s verse into a new format is sure to be a hit with...
Shakespeare’s words reach a new—very young—audience in this gorgeously illustrated board book offering a new story by debut adapter Parekh and veteran illustrator Amini (Chicken in the Kitchen, 2015, etc.) of fairies and animals to accompany lines from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Beginning with familiar visuals for young lap readers, the book opens with a roaring lion and a howling wolf. The animals, along with some fairy friends, free a tired donkey from his yoke while a ploughman sleeps. Joined by a mouse, a screech owl, and a growing population of fairies, the group hikes to the ruins of an old church, finding the three-faced Hecate, whose cloak contains the night. With the fervor of Maurice Sendak’s Wild Things on their rumpus, the characters frolic before they hush, assuring listeners if this has seemed too strange, it is “but a dream.” Soon, all the animals and their fairy friends drowse off as well, making for a lulling bedtime tale. Shakespeare’s lines are sure to challenge young independent readers, but for the youngest listeners, whose minds hear sounds and rhythms as much as the words they’re still learning to decode, the patterns here are as lovely on the ear as they are when spoken by Puck at the end of the famous play. Amini’s textured illustrations of the fearsome wolf and lion might intimidate youngsters if not for the playful fairies on every page, smiling, with wings blurred so that they actually appear to be moving out of the corner of a viewer’s eye. Hecate’s black-and-white, almost transparent form contrasts with the luxuriously rendered creatures, such as the brightly pigmented snake and fairies, some of whom have a three-dimensional appearance in their dress, like petals or scales. Parents who love Shakespeare will find this a perfect introduction to the works of the Bard—it’s at once sophisticated and approachable, with a whimsy that youngsters will enjoy.
Originally funded by a Kickstarter, this reinvention of Shakespeare’s verse into a new format is sure to be a hit with parents and their littlest listeners, too.Pub Date: March 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9984397-1-6
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Drivel and Drool
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An endearing protagonist runs the first, fast leg of Reynolds' promising relay.
Castle “Ghost” Cranshaw feels like he’s been running ever since his dad pulled that gun on him and his mom—and used it.
His dad’s been in jail three years now, but Ghost still feels the trauma, which is probably at the root of the many “altercations” he gets into at middle school. When he inserts himself into a practice for a local elite track team, the Defenders, he’s fast enough that the hard-as-nails coach decides to put him on the team. Ghost is surprised to find himself caring enough about being on the team that he curbs his behavior to avoid “altercations.” But Ma doesn’t have money to spare on things like fancy running shoes, so Ghost shoplifts a pair that make his feet feel impossibly light—and his conscience correspondingly heavy. Ghost’s narration is candid and colloquial, reminiscent of such original voices as Bud Caldwell and Joey Pigza; his level of self-understanding is both believably childlike and disarming in its perception. He is self-focused enough that secondary characters initially feel one-dimensional, Coach in particular, but as he gets to know them better, so do readers, in a way that unfolds naturally and pleasingly. His three fellow “newbies” on the Defenders await their turns to star in subsequent series outings. Characters are black by default; those few white people in Ghost’s world are described as such.
An endearing protagonist runs the first, fast leg of Reynolds' promising relay. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5015-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
PROFILES
SEEN & HEARD
A page-turner for soccer-mad readers, whether fans or players.
Challenges on and off the field await a 12-year-old Ohio boy who’s unexpectedly invited to attend an exclusive soccer camp in England.
Leo K. Doyle may be a star forward on his YMCA league team, but after accepting a surprising invitation from a roving scout to attend a month of highly competitive tryouts for a Premier League youth development program, he finds himself far from home and, at best, in the middle of the pack. At the London Dragons camp, Leo, who’s cued as biracial, with a white dad and brown-skinned mom, makes friends with fellow players from around the world. He also wins an anti-American bully’s grudging respect and even helps his 19-year-old coach with a sweet gesture of apology for his girlfriend. But from the outset, the focus is on “the Beautiful Game.” Without letting up on the breathless pace for a moment, Layton packs Leo’s narrative with clear descriptions of skills and techniques both basic and advanced, sapient coaching, game strategies, and intangibles (such as team chemistry) that ultimately come together to set Leo apart from his bigger, faster, stronger rivals. Following a series of hard-fought elimination matches culminating in a high-stakes final in the big stadium under the eyes of the godlike professional team, Leo flies home in time for a dizzying final twist that sets up the sequel to this first entry in Layton’s popular British series.
A page-turner for soccer-mad readers, whether fans or players. (Fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781464267109
Page Count: 306
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
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