A rousing, slightly surreal tale of rescue and redemption, this effort will appeal to animal lovers everywhere.
In Ibbotson’s final book, all 10-year-old Hal Fenton has ever wanted is a dog of his own, but his wealthy, shallow parents think a brief dog-rental will resolve his yearning.
Every aspect of the Fenton household’s appearance is perfect, and a dog is an unwelcome addition. Mr. Fenton rents Fleck, a white mutt inappropriately placed at the Easy Pets agency, run by the evil Carkers, a couple interested only in making money. Fortunately for the 50 purebred dogs they rent out, gentle, impoverished Kayley runs the kennel. Bereft after his parents slyly return Fleck to the agency, Hal steals the dog and sets out for his grandparents’ cottage in the north of England. He’s joined unexpectedly by a motley gang of five other kennel escapees and Kayley’s kind-hearted younger sister, Pippa, who has released them. In a series of remarkably fortunate encounters, the dogs’ sagacious skills help the children on their perilous journey. Characters are painted with a broad brush; they are either very, very good or quite nasty, although some of the latter, like Hal’s parents, have the opportunity for atonement. The amusing hyperbole Ibbotson employs to great effect turns this pet story into a classic Dahl-like adventure.
A rousing, slightly surreal tale of rescue and redemption, this effort will appeal to animal lovers everywhere. (Adventure. 9-14)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-35196-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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