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
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
Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center.
Armed only with her magical sewing needle, foundling mouse Delphine sets out to confront the cruel rat king in this duology closer.
As vicious rat armies pillage the mouse realms in search of her and her pointy, long-hidden treasure, Delphine finds herself waging an inner war that parallels the outer one. According to dusty documents and other reputable sources, the needle’s good powers can be perverted, but she sees no other way except killing to stop evil rat King Midnight. While struggling with a grim determination to go over to the dark side that sets her at odds with her own fundamentally loving nature, Delphine threads her way along with loyal allies past various scrapes—only to come, climactically, face to face with not only her nemesis, but her own past. Moon stitches in flashbacks to fill out the details of a tragic old love triangle that reaches its fruition here and sews her tale up with a return to Château Desjardins just in time for Cinderella’s wedding and a celebratory rodentine ball in the chandelier overhead, and she leaves a fringe of epilogue hinting at further installments to come.
Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center. (secret codes) (Animal fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-04833-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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