An engaging moral tale as cheerful as it is profound.
A gnome’s quest for adventure puts him face to face with a fairy king and a royal curse in this debut children’s book.
There’s no question that Peter is the smallest of all the gnomes in his village. Residents call him Pipsqueak and ignore him unless they need him to retrieve something in a tiny place only he can squeeze into. Peter wants to be something more and doesn’t think he can do that in his forest home. So he packs his satchel and goes off on his own. The world beyond the woods is filled with scary things that think Peter is food as well as friendly insects the same size as the little gnome. But Peter turns his attention to King Blackthorn, who cursed a farmer’s land after the human cut down the trees where the monarch’s fairy people lived. Peter believes he can convince Blackthorn to lift his curse so the farmer and the fairies will all be happy again. But how can he show the king that the farmer may simply not know the wonder of the fairies’ smaller world? Koenig’s short narrative boasts a compact but vibrant cast, including Benjamin the helpful bumblebee and “sassy” ladybug Laticia. Even Blackthorn is sympathetic, as his anger over the loss of the fairies’ home is understandable. The author breathes life into such visuals as a newly emerged butterfly and the king’s royal attire of a “jewel-encrusted coat” and “exquisite boots.” Likewise, the author’s multicolored sketches throughout the book parade the beauty of insects, winged fairies, and nature’s marvels. Meanwhile, the hero will surely enlighten readers with his compassion and confidence. Peter knows he’s capable of much more than what people see, and he strives to inspire others to believe the same about themselves. While the wrap-up is satisfying, the ending hints that further escapades await the intrepid gnome.
An engaging moral tale as cheerful as it is profound.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-03-914986-1
Page Count: 47
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A validating and breathtaking next chapter of a Mother Goose favorite.
Humpty Dumpty, classically portrayed as an egg, recounts what happened after he fell off the wall in Santat’s latest.
An avid ornithophile, Humpty had loved being atop a high wall to be close to the birds, but after his fall and reassembly by the king’s men, high places—even his lofted bed—become intolerable. As he puts it, “There were some parts that couldn’t be healed with bandages and glue.” Although fear bars Humpty from many of his passions, it is the birds he misses the most, and he painstakingly builds (after several papercut-punctuated attempts) a beautiful paper plane to fly among them. But when the plane lands on the very wall Humpty has so doggedly been avoiding, he faces the choice of continuing to follow his fear or to break free of it, which he does, going from cracked egg to powerful flight in a sequence of stunning spreads. Santat applies his considerable talent for intertwining visual and textual, whimsy and gravity to his consideration of trauma and the oft-overlooked importance of self-determined recovery. While this newest addition to Santat’s successes will inevitably (and deservedly) be lauded, younger readers may not notice the de-emphasis of an equally important part of recovery: that it is not compulsory—it is OK not to be OK.
A validating and breathtaking next chapter of a Mother Goose favorite. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62672-682-6
Page Count: 45
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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