Readers aren’t likely to be moonstruck by this one.
A child in turmoil takes matters into her own hands.
Light-skinned, red-haired Fae lives in a secluded cabin, lonely and aching for her missing mother. With only two silent mice, a talking bunny named Percival, and her nightmares for company, Fae struggles with anger and sadness while holding out hope that her mother will return. Her mysterious mother brought her to this place and, before she disappeared, told her stories from their old home, tales of the moon, dragons, and the blue rose. Those stories keep Fae feeling connected to her mother, so when Percival suggests that she find a way to honor her mother’s memory by the light of the full moon, Fae plucks the moon from the sky. This sets off a chain of events Fae could not have predicted, with wild beasts, long held at bay by the protective glow of the moon, once again going bump in the night, forcing her to finally understand her own mystical abilities and purpose. Fae’s expressive, innocent face contrasts perfectly with the more sinister characters throughout. Aureliani spares no time getting into the plot, building suspense and layering in the emotional complexity of Fae’s abandonment. However, this pace sometimes feels breakneck, set at Mach 10 to keep a low page and word count to suit a younger audience when the complexity of the tale could have easily been scaled up for an older age group.
Readers aren’t likely to be moonstruck by this one. (Fantasy graphic novel. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-4998-1328-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Yellow Jacket
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Bufo buffoonery for fans of the Holms’ Squish series and like early graphics.
Stopping a highway project that threatens his pond is going to take more than Cecil the toad’s ability to “toot.”
Cecil discovers the danger thanks to a short flight in the talons of a predatory but, fortunately, olfactorily sensitive hawk. Once safely back in the water, he calls together several pondside buddies including Jeremy the earthworm and Jeff, a “free-range hamster,” to brainstorm solutions to the crisis. Alas, it turns out to be not so easy for small creatures to stop giant bulldozers. Nothing if not nervy, Cecil even enlists the hawk to help by dropping rocks. No dice—“Catch you later,” the raptor sneers meaningfully as it flies off. Braddock’s experience illustrating A Charlie Brown Valentine (2002) and other post-Schulz Peanuts productions stands her in good stead here, as she presents in big cartoon panels a cast of neatly drawn creatures whose pithy commentary (the insectivorous Cecil, on his friendship with Reggie the fly: “Ours is a complex relationship”) is more sophisticated than their pratfalls and other broad antics. Just as all seems lost, two human biologists recognize another buddy, RayRay, as a rare “Jollyville Plateau salamander,” and the pond is saved. A pair of miniepisodes and assorted worm and Bufo americanus facts cap this wry eco-fable. Colored illustrations not seen.
Bufo buffoonery for fans of the Holms’ Squish series and like early graphics. (Graphic fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4494-5711-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
Praiseworthy! (Early reader. 6-8)
Fun with compound words defines this early reader.
In a classroom headed by a white teacher, a diverse group of children with varied skin tones reviews a lesson about compound words. “Homework” is the first such word that a brown-skinned, black-haired girl named Annemarie identifies, and an accompanying illustration uses a thought balloon to show her imagining two anthropomorphic houses in hard hats doing roadwork with a jackhammer. Similar pictures and playful text follow in later spreads that depict Annemarie and other children in the classroom and playing on the playground while thinking of other compound words. The compound wordplay continues as Annemarie drives home with her father and then interacts with her family, all of whom share her coloring. A return to school has Annemarie turning in her homework, pleased with the many compound words she’s listed. Throughout, humorous digitally colored cartoon illustrations provide context clues for readers decoding the compound-word–rich text. The use of panels in the well-designed spreads makes it easy to follow the engaging, sequential illustrations.
Praiseworthy! (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943145-17-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: TOON Books & Graphics
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
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