DICTIONARY OF WITCHES

Name: DICTIONARY OF WITCHES
Author: Grégoire Solotareff
ISBN: 978-1-77085-995-1

by Grégoire Solotareff ; illustrated by Grégoire Solotareff ; translated by Claudine Mersereau ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 2017

A surprising treat with a cackle on every page, this is a perfect book for Halloween or any day ending in Y.

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French artist and author Solotareff provides readers of most ages with an alphabetical guide to identifying, understanding, and avoiding the witch community.

This dictionary—more like encyclopedia—of information relating to witches covers such important topics as a witch’s favorite colors (“violet-ish, yellowish, olive-ish,…gloomy, pigeon throat, crimson”), the utter normalcy of witches’ brooms, and the side effects of green saliva. Every definition includes a perfectly apropos illustration, each one a crude hilarity. Some of the information is clear and straightforward: “Witches don’t have babies. Happily!” Other entries are trickier to parse but no less satisfying to mull over. For example, the page labeled “BABIES” states only that “Bats are mice that sometimes fly and from which witches have taken the fur to glue onto the heads of babies who were born bald. (See ‘Hair’).” Pure silliness is balanced with occasional nuggets of wisdom, and mild gross-out humor lives comfortably alongside poetic, intriguing prose. Some adults might balk at children reading words such as “stupid” or the one usage of “hell,” and others might wonder why a dictionary would neglect the letters J, Q, V, and Z. But those who would deny themselves the pleasure of this funny, strange, charming book are missing out.

A surprising treat with a cackle on every page, this is a perfect book for Halloween or any day ending in Y. (Picture book. 6-adult)

Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-77085-995-1

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Firefly

Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
WOLFY
by Grégoire Solotareff ; illustrated by Grégoire Solotareff ; translated by Daniel Hahn

- BOOK REVIEW
YOU BIG AND ME SMALL
by Grégoire Solotareff ; illustrated by Grégoire Solotareff ; translated by Claudine Mersereau

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JAKE THE FAKE KEEPS IT REAL

From the Jake the Fake series , Vol. 1

by Craig Robinson & Adam Mansbach ; illustrated by Keith Knight ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2017

A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid.

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Black sixth-grader Jake Liston can only play one song on the piano. He can’t read music very well, and he can’t improvise. So how did Jake get accepted to the Music and Art Academy? He faked it.

Alongside an eclectic group of academy classmates, and with advice from his best friend, Jake tries to fit in at a school where things like garbage sculpting and writing art reviews of bird poop splatter are the norm. All is well until Jake discovers that the end-of-the-semester talent show is only two weeks away, and Jake is short one very important thing…talent. Or is he? It’s up to Jake to either find the talent that lies within or embarrass himself in front of the entire school. Light and humorous, with Knight’s illustrations adding to the fun, Jake’s story will likely appeal to many middle-grade readers, especially those who might otherwise be reluctant to pick up a book. While the artsy antics may be over-the-top at times, this is a story about something that most preteens can relate to: the struggle to find your authentic self. And in a world filled with books about wanting to fit in with the athletically gifted supercliques, this novel unabashedly celebrates the artsy crowd in all of its quirky, creative glory.

A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid. (Fiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: March 28, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-553-52351-5

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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PERCY JACKSON'S GREEK GODS

by Rick Riordan ; illustrated by John Rocco ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 2014

The inevitable go-to for Percy’s legions of fans who want the stories behind his stories.

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Percy Jackson takes a break from adventuring to serve up the Greek gods like flapjacks at a church breakfast.

Percy is on form as he debriefs readers concerning Chaos, Gaea, Ouranos and Pontus, Dionysus, Ariadne and Persephone, all in his dude’s patter: “He’d forgotten how beautiful Gaea could be when she wasn’t all yelling up in his face.” Here they are, all 12 Olympians, plus many various offspring and associates: the gold standard of dysfunctional families, whom Percy plays like a lute, sometimes lyrically, sometimes with a more sardonic air. Percy’s gift, which is no great secret, is to breathe new life into the gods. Closest attention is paid to the Olympians, but Riordan has a sure touch when it comes to fitting much into a small space—as does Rocco’s artwork, which smokes and writhes on the page as if hit by lightning—so readers will also meet Makaria, “goddess of blessed peaceful deaths,” and the Theban Teiresias, who accidentally sees Athena bathing. She blinds him but also gives him the ability to understand the language of birds. The atmosphere crackles and then dissolves, again and again: “He could even send the Furies after living people if they committed a truly horrific crime—like killing a family member, desecrating a temple, or singing Journey songs on karaoke night.”

The inevitable go-to for Percy’s legions of fans who want the stories behind his stories. (Mythology. 10-14)