A quirky and informative kids’ book hampered by stiff dialogue and lack of narrative structure.
In Gallois’ middle-grade graphic novel, a possum discovers newfound superpowers after ingesting a mysterious glowing green taco.
Opal Opossum falls asleep on her usual trash heap after an adventurous night out at the Moonlight Marauders concert with her best friends, Albin Ferret and Essie Skunk. She’s awakened by the presence of a glowing green taco, which she promptly devours. The next day, her friends notice Opal’s glowing green stomach—as well as her eyes’ new ability to shoot lasers (which she uses to protect Essie from a personal-space-hogging snake), her tail’s extension into a lasso (handy for apprehending pizza-stealing raccoons), and the fact that her pouch now contains infinite space (she stows three extra-large pizzas in there). Each chapter begins with factual information about an animal or idea featured in the story, including skunks and quantum physics. The book is formatted like a graphic novel, with multiple illustrated panels on each page, dialogue balloons coming from the characters’ mouths, and textual asides at the bottoms of some panels (“*all three take a moment to contemplate Earth’s impending doom*”). The illustrations by Possum Mood are extremely basic, with bold lines and minimal detail or shading. Gallois’ story has legitimately funny moments, particularly in the “Fidget Breaks” that appear at each chapter’s conclusion (“Focus! You may have no idea what just happened, but see if you can get back on track so you’re ready for whatever awaits in chapter three. Close your eyes and try to visualize a slowly rotating cow in your mind. Or, if you prefer, count backwards from 23”). Unfortunately, the scattered plot comes across as a string of chaotic events rather than a thought-out story. The general goofiness will likely appeal to young readers, but the stiff dialogue (“You two…You better get gone! And don’t try anything funny!”) and lackluster illustrations ultimately result in an underwhelming production.
A quirky and informative kids’ book hampered by stiff dialogue and lack of narrative structure.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9781954322370
Page Count: 100
Publisher: Moonflower Press
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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