A few moments of manufactured drama aside, a ragged chain of set pieces.
A late-blooming urban mosquito meets his country-raised half brother for the first time.
The storyline wanders as aimlessly as a mosquito in the breeze. Last of his 401-sibling family to be born, Dinnn Needles is both puny and so afraid of falling that he walks everywhere—at least until bullies push him into a sewer and he has to shed his beloved but wing-pinning leather jacket to survive. Then he and his clan hitch a minivan ride to the swampy lake where his mother had seen all but one of her first set of offspring eaten by dragonflies. There he meets hulking but friendly Gus, who leads a nighttime expedition past sleeping pondhawks to a carnival. When the outing runs long, Dinnn and Gus are forced to run the dragonfly gantlet. Having acquitted himself nobly, Dinnn rejoins his family for the ride home and learns a family secret (that readers will have known for a while). Ondaatje adds humorous chapter heads like “Crouching Mosquito, Hidden Dragonfly,” a mix of real and fancied mosquito lore, and a natural-history quiz at the end (with answers to be found online). Neither these nor Salcedo’s pictures of pensive, popeyed, pointy-nosed buglets inject enough juice to get this anemic tale off the ground.
A few moments of manufactured drama aside, a ragged chain of set pieces. (Animal fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-55498-437-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The Baudelaire children—Violet, 14, Klaus, 12, and baby Sunny—are exceedingly ill-fated; Snicket extracts both humor and horror from their situation, as he gleefully puts them through one terrible ordeal after another. After receiving the news that their parents died in a fire, the three hapless orphans are delivered into the care of Count Olaf, who “is either a third cousin four times removed, or a fourth cousin three times removed.” The villainous Count Olaf is morally depraved and generally mean, and only takes in the downtrodden yet valiant children so that he can figure out a way to separate them from their considerable inheritance. The youngsters are able to escape his clutches at the end, but since this is the first installment in A Series of Unfortunate Events, there will be more ghastly doings. Written with old-fashioned flair, this fast-paced book is not for the squeamish: the Baudelaire children are truly sympathetic characters who encounter a multitude of distressing situations. Those who enjoy a little poison in their porridge will find it wicked good fun. (b&w illustrations, not seen) (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-440766-7
Page Count: 162
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
Like its predecessor, a satisfying, Incredibles-style mix of awesome exploits and common family issues.
Deprived of superpowers in the previous episode (Almost Super, 2014), can the Bailey and Johnson clans put aside their squabbles to tackle their common nemesis, the Joneses?
Determined to prove that they have the mettle to join their parents and relatives in fighting crime, 13-year-old Rafter Bailey, his little brother, Benny, and erstwhile rival Juanita Johnson (definitely the brains of the trio) kick off their own search for the Joneses’ secret hideout. Little do they suspect that those clever villains have planted a ringer in their very midst. Sabotage and other distractions ensue, until Juanita’s sudden disappearance sharpens not only the urgency of the search, but also Rafter’s guilt for being a poor friend. The kidnapping turns out to be a crucial mistake for the bad guys, however, as resourceful Juanita gets off a call for help that both brings the Baileys and Johnsons together for a collective rescue operation and, amid much breakage of glass and heroic feats of derring-do, foils the evil schemes of scenery-chewing archfiend October Jones. Rafter makes a likable narrator, emotionally open and determined to be both a good superhero and a good friend.
Like its predecessor, a satisfying, Incredibles-style mix of awesome exploits and common family issues. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-220958-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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