Silly thrills about the power of self and friendship.
Stitch Head, a being cooked up in a laboratory by a mad scientist, continues his journey out of the shadows of Castle Grotteskew.
While reluctantly rehearsing with the castle’s drama society under the direction of the Creature (another of Mad Professor Erasmus’ creations), Stitch Head is startled by a disembodied voice only he can hear, calling his name. While searching for the voice’s source, Stitch Head is startled when a human face appears from the shadows, demanding Stitch Head give an unknown thing back. Hearing the description of the ghost, the usually brave Arabella (a human girl) tells Stitch Head he must leave the castle to escape the horrifying ghost of Mawley Crackbone. Upon speaking Mawley’s name, Stitch Head is pulled through the walls into unknown depths of the castle. Mawley reveals that he is the source of Stitch Head’s heart. The protagonist’s fragile sense of self is shaken when he questions if the heart of a wicked man means he is wicked. A quick pace is set from the prologue, where readers learn that Mawley was murdered to end his evil reign over the village of Grubbers Nubbin, and doesn’t let up until the end. Stitch Head’s emotional growth continues as he confronts strong feelings, helped by his friends. These more poignant scenes are balanced with moments of humor and whimsy: the Creature’s melodramatic speech patterns, the play the castle residents are staging, and detailed black-and-white illustrations of Grotteskew’s strange inhabitants. Human characters are generally pale-skinned.
Silly thrills about the power of self and friendship. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2023
ISBN: 9781664340688
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
The U.S. publisher, an arm of the American Psychological Association, suggests shared reading to prompt discussion; some...
This private, off-limits diary of a young girl records ideas and feelings that she doesn't want to reveal to anyone else, turning readers into instant voyeurs.
The fictional Marilou writes narrative and simple poetry in a convincing voice. She includes things that make her sad or happy, disappoint her or make her proud, thoughts about friendship and solitude, examples of courage and fears and feelings about growing up, life, war, death, peace, hope and sharing with the world. Two common events prompt many of her musings: the death of her red goldfish and her parents’ announcement that they are expecting another child. These short entries are presented in a variety of handwritten printing styles (no script) and taped in a scrapbook, leaving plenty of white space on each page. They are accompanied by slightly surreal images, usually filling a single page but sometimes spilling over the gutter. Done with a variety of media, some illustrations look like watercolor paintings enhanced with crayon and some collage, others are more textured with brushwork visible. First published in Canada in French, this was shortlisted for a readers' choice award in Atlantic Canada. No translator is credited.
The U.S. publisher, an arm of the American Psychological Association, suggests shared reading to prompt discussion; some readers may prefer to maintain the illusion of learning someone’s secrets, responding to them without adult interference. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4338-0958-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
Wishes come true when third-grade genius Sophie Simon applies her intellectual skills to her classmates' problems with their parents' expectations and solves a problem of her own. Sophie wants a graphing calculator, Owen Luu wants a rabbit, Julia McGreevy wants to be a journalist and Daisy Pete (and everyone else in her ballet class) wants to avoid the ballet recital. Sophie's parents just want her to be a normal kid, with friends. Everyone ends up happy in this middle-grade spoof. Exaggerations abound: Their teacher’s long list of rules includes “No thinking,” the ballet teacher threatens to chop off toes and Sophie’s parents are distraught that she has visited the library. Sophie is brilliant, reading a calculus text for fun. Daisy is clumsy, Julia math-averse and Owen frightened of nearly everything. A ring-tailed lemur wreaks havoc at Owen’s birthday, and the ballet recital becomes a sit-in. An “encyclopedia” at the end explains allusions, and there’s a recipe for saltwater taffy. This reading romp has plenty of kid appeal. Final art not seen. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-374-37125-8
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
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