bookshelf

Yubi and the Blue-tailed Rat

Name: Yubi and the Blue-tailed Rat
Author: Georgia Hunter
ISBN: 978-1460931479

by Georgia Hunter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2011

An occasionally confusing but engaging, adventure-filled fantasy.

bookshelf

Hunter’s (Lucky Horseshoes, 2012) colorful YA folk tale about a poor boy named Yubi who goes on a quest with a copper vessel, a sea urchin shell and a talking rat to save a princess.

Orphan boy Yubi, working in the lavender mill of the mythical kingdom of Lavendula, is chosen by the town’s old witch to give the ruling family’s daughter, Princess Anjali, a magic copper vase. When the princess goes missing the next day, the town elders throw the witch, Isabella, into the sea and burn her cave while seeking the one who gave the princess the copper vase. Before the witch’s cave is burned, the boy steals another copper vase, along with a magic sea urchin shell, and meets up with a magical talking blue-tailed rat named Alex as he escapes the town elders by going to sea. While on the ship, Yubi discovers that thugs, lead by Cross-Eyed Org, kidnapped the princess and sold her to the sultan on the order of the town elders, who seek to reign in her stead. The tale, told unevenly in varying styles, includes words that kids (and adults) are unlikely to know, e.g., “lokum.” A game called Fiasco, with its convoluted rules and odd lingo—“Tie for high,” “lost the trick”— may also baffle readers. A negative portrayal of gypsies as stereotypical greedy kidnappers and thieves further mars the storytelling: “One sly-eyed gypsy with a huge hooked nose hollered at the cornered pair, ‘We want your gold!’ ” Still, Yubi’s ability to escape harm and survive each action-packed chapter speeds the story along, as does the orphan’s bravery in surmounting obstacles, his kindly concern for all living things and his intention to rescue Princess Anjali. The magic copper vases, one of which turns into a flying saucer, and the talking rat, who is really more wizard than rodent, all add imagination and interest to the adventure.

An occasionally confusing but engaging, adventure-filled fantasy.

Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2011

ISBN: 978-1460931479

Page Count: 184

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: March 21, 2013

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

bookshelf

THE WILD ROBOT PROTECTS

From the Wild Robot series , Vol. 3

by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.

bookshelf

Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.

When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023

ISBN: 9780316669412

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
TROUBLING TONSILS!
by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WILD ROBOT ON THE ISLAND
by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
CREEPY CRAYON!
by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown

bookshelf

FREE FALL

by David Wiesner ; illustrated by David Wiesner ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 20, 1988

bookshelf

In an imaginative wordless picture book, Wiesner (illustrator of Kite Flyer, 1986) tours a dream world suggested by the books and objects in a boy's room. A series of transitions—linked by a map in the book that the boy was reading as he fell asleep—wafts him, pajama-clad, from an aerial view of hedge-bordered fields to a chessboard with chess pieces, some changing into their realistic counterparts (plus a couple of eerie roundheaded figures based on pawns that reappear throughout); next appear a castle; a mysterious wood in which lurks a huge, whimsical dragon; the interior of a neoclassical palace; and a series of fantastic landscapes that eventually transport the boy back to his own bed. Most interesting here are the visual links Wiesner uses in his journey's evolution; it's fun to trace the many details from page to page. There's a bow to Van Allsburg, and another to Sendak's In the Night Kitchen, but Wiesner's broad double-spreads of a dream world—whose muted colors suggest a silent space outside of time—have their own charm. Intriguing.