Easily eclipsing the decades, this mind-bending fantasy blends familiar literary allusions, psychedelic settings, and just...
Philemon (Cast Away on the Letter A, 2014) returns in another whimsical romp to revisit the letter A and free his friend Bartholomew.
Upon his return from the labyrinth on the letter A (of the word “Atlantic” on a map), Philemon quickly discovers that his hardworking father has little time for his fanciful tales. But his uncle Felix not only believes him, but knows of the letter A and of Bartholomew. Felix quickly transports Philemon—via a reversed telescope and careful placement on a globe—back to the letters that make up the lands he had just left. Upon his arrival, he finds all kinds of wonderfully odd things, like a traveler who can not only walk, but sleep on water; a race of brilliantly hued, capricious beings who arrest him for bouncing; and a bizarre house full of strange doors, giants, and calamitous carpets. This second Philemon outing, originally published in France in the 1970s and only now published in English, is just as charmingly offbeat as its predecessor. Included are notes that help young readers place many of the literary references found in Philemon's adventures, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to Gulliver's Travels.
Easily eclipsing the decades, this mind-bending fantasy blends familiar literary allusions, psychedelic settings, and just the right smattering of fun. (Graphic fantasy. 7-12)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-935179-83-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: TOON Books & Graphics
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Bright and quirky; offers an affectionate portrayal of adolescent change.
A teenage witch learns and grows in this first English translation of the second entry in the popular Japanese series that inspired the Studio Ghibli movie Kiki’s Delivery Service.
Kiki the witch is now 14, wiser from lessons learned in her first year as a delivery girl but still seeking a fuller sense of her role in the seaside town of Koriko. Jiji, her black cat, continues to perch beside her as she soars high on her broom, making his snarky comments. After a visit home, Kiki returns to her room above Osono’s bakery; the cheerful baker is now the mother of a toddler. The episodic story structure, which is well-suited for read-alouds, loosely follows the arc of a year in Kiki’s life. The distinctive, detailed storytelling contains depth and humor and is punctuated with lyrics of curious songs. A number of Kiki’s errands involve elderly customers seeking to revisit idyllic memories, but she also unwittingly aids someone who has a questionable quest. Kiki experiences gentle struggles—her broom gets damaged, she admires a floral dress and wonders why witches wear black, and she experiments with going beyond the bounds of her daily routine to make witch medicine. Kiki’s character is refreshingly childlike and nuanced: She possesses at once a playful heart, a burgeoning awareness of her personal power, and a mind that can see the complexities of adulthood without entirely comprehending how to parse them.
Bright and quirky; offers an affectionate portrayal of adolescent change. (Fantasy. 7-12)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9798217227105
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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