by Eva Ibbotson & illustrated by Kevin Hawkes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2003
Well-intentioned witches follow their hearts instead of their heads, with nearly disastrous results, in Ibbotson’s latest caper. After a tiff drives them apart, two kindhearted, and previously inseparable, graduates of witch school set off to rid different towns of evildoers: Dora, by turning them to stone; Heckie (Hecate), by transforming them into zoo animals. Cottoning on to their abilities, slimy furrier Lionel Warthag contrives to woo both, planning to make a massive killing (in more ways than one) by tricking Heckie into turning the local prison’s 300 inmates into highly marketable snow leopards. The author trots in her customary cast of caricatured adults and lively, intelligent children, presents a varied catalogue of criminals, including a ruthless chicken farmer and a racist demagogue, then brings her tale to a satisfying close with Warthag behind bars, and the witches friends again. Hawkes dresses the farce, previously published across the pond in 1989, with a cover and a stingy assortment of interior drawings. Not Ibbotson in top form, but sure to be snapped up by the legion of new fans she’s gained in the Harry Potter interregnums. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-525-47101-4
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2003
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by Joy Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999
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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by Joy Cowley ; illustrated by Giselle Clarkson
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by Lamar Giles ; illustrated by Dapo Adeola ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2019
This can’t be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan County—imaginative,...
Can this really be the first time readers meet the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County? Cousins and veteran sleuths Otto and Sheed Alston show us that we are the ones who are late to their greatness.
These two black boys are coming to terms with the end of their brave, heroic summer at Grandma’s, with a return to school just right around the corner. They’ve already got two keys to the city, but the rival Epic Ellisons—twin sisters Wiki and Leen—are steadily gaining celebrity across Logan County, Virginia, and have in hand their third key to the city. No way summer can end like this! These young people are powerful, courageous, experienced adventurers molded through their heroic commitment to discipline and deduction. They’ve got their shared, lifesaving maneuvers committed to memory (printed in a helpful appendix) and ready to save any day. Save the day they must, as a mysterious, bendy gentleman and an oversized, clingy platypus have been unleashed on the city of Fry, and all the residents and their belongings seem to be frozen in time and place. Will they be able to solve this one? With total mastery, Giles creates in Logan County an exuberant vortex of weirdness, where the commonplace sits cheek by jowl with the utterly fantastic, and populates it with memorable characters who more than live up to their setting.
This can’t be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan County—imaginative, thrill-seeking readers, this is a series to look out for. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-46083-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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