Wilf’s determined efforts to confront and overcome his fears add a bit of subtext, but the series is already treading water...
Once again wimpy Wilf has to overcome some of his many phobias to save the planet from the “biddly boddly baddest most evil man in the whole wide worlderoony.”
In this sequel to Wilf the Mighty Worrier Saves the World (2015), the “biddly boddly…” etc., aka next-door neighbor Alan, has built a pirate ship in his backyard. Now, styling himself Long John Alan, he has set sail to: a) find buried treasure; b) attack passing ships, and; c) destroy the Earth with a “Big Gun Thingy” made from a submarine with the ends lopped off. As his crew consists of a snotty parrot, a dog, a drunken robot, some pirates more interested in crafts than crime, Wilf, and Wilf’s baby sister, it’s left to Wilf to do most of the work—however terrified he may be of heights, walking the plank, squid, fish sucking his toes, and other hazards of the sea. Being a narrator both intrusive and temperamental, Pritchett folds in several false starts and endings to the “kerfuffle” as well as snarky comments. Littler adds lots of cartoon drawings of Wilf and his visualized worries, of Alan leering or glaring, and of the ship’s other passengers flitting about. All the human figures are white.
Wilf’s determined efforts to confront and overcome his fears add a bit of subtext, but the series is already treading water in its second episode. (Farce. 9-11)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-68144-320-1
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Mobius
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A hard truth for hard times.
A bench and a closed door mark the milestones in an excited child’s life.
The child grows older as they faithfully await a beloved uncle who never shows. As the protagonist sits watching the door, they excitedly note the things they’ll tell their uncle about: their progress in school, an upcoming move, their new son. In scene after scene, time trundles on as the child evolves into a teen and then an adult and finally to nothing but a memory in the fruitless anticipation of a dream never realized. The uncle, it is later explained, has become one of the “disappeared.” Santana Camargo’s deceptively simple black line drawings against stark white paper allow for no meandering of attention. The protagonist’s—and readers’—focus is on the door that remains shut. Each unwaveringly hopeful line begins with “Great!” in anticipation of the visit (“Great! Then I can tell him about this girl that I like”)—and in contrast to the unseen bleak reality. The author’s unsentimental bilingual text, in English and Spanish, gives no hint as to the reason behind the protagonist’s continued pining—until the afterword, which states that though people have disappeared throughout history, during the Cold War, many governments began using the practice as a “systematic instrument of terror.” Though, according to the backmatter, this story takes place in South America, Santana Camargo notes that people have been disappeared in other places, such as Indonesia. The protagonist has few facial figures and skin the color of the page. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A hard truth for hard times. (Picture book. 9-11)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-77840-006-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Aldana Libros/Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Engaging and a solid conversation starter.
This follow-up to The Boy at the Back of the Class (2019) features two stories in one, following children who make a difference.
Set in the U.K., the first book saw a young Syrian refugee named Ahmet and his new friends become famous in their quest to reunite Ahmet with his family and keep the government and the queen from “closing the gates and borders to refugees like him.” In The Day We Met the Queen, Ahmet and his pals (including the nameless narrator) have been invited to tea with the monarch. But with a stink bomb going off in the middle of an assembly and a protest blocking the road, will they make it to Buckingham Palace in time? The Great Food Bank Heist centers on a different set of characters—Nelson, his sister, Ashley, and their mum, who are struggling financially and who rely on the local food bank. When someone starts stealing food from the bank, Nelson and his friends decide to stake it out and find out who’s responsible. Raúf builds excitement and suspense in each story, capturing the children’s bravery and their determination while also exploring topics such as racism, bullying, and food insecurity; humor leavens some of the more serious topics. Most characters, apart from Ahmet, read as White.
Engaging and a solid conversation starter. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48819-5
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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