A tidy conclusion tailor-made for reading aloud in twinkly tones.
Hidden pirate gold isn’t the only treasure canine adventurer Indiana Bones and his two-legged cohorts find as their quest reaches its end.
Though the villainous Sir Henry Lupton, self-styled “the Serpent,” and his oily associate, Philip Castle, seem always a step ahead, the plucky pooch and allies, including young “kick-ass archaeologist” Aisha Ghatak—dubbed the “Good Team” lest readers somehow confuse the sides (not likely)—travel from the catacombs of Paris to an underwater cave near Marseille. But it’s on the remote Orkney Isle of Skara Brae where the adventure comes to an end amid just deserts, family reunions, and, as promised, piles of golden loot that Aisha and her father, Satnam, being ethical sorts, immediately set about repatriating. All of this is related in waggish prose as the author fills in background about previous series entries for his readers while shepherding them from one predicament to the next until, his book having “officially run out of chapters,” he closes this story by leaving Aisha and Indiana in a museum back home in Oxford and offers advice to readers: “keep reading, keep reading, keep reading, for books are the real treasure and have magic in their pages.” Bagley’s often whimsical monochrome illustrations punctuate the narrative.
A tidy conclusion tailor-made for reading aloud in twinkly tones. (Adventure. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9780571353545
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Browsers’ delights, but definitely not for the squeamish.
Ten of nature’s little horrors, presented in a gallery of close-up photo portraits with all-too-detailed commentary.
From the evocatively named tongue-eating louse to the green-banded broodsac, which moves between hosts by crawling up inside a snail’s eyestalk to mimic a caterpillar so that a bird will eat it, these “tiny terrors and mini-monsters” are well-chosen to give even the most hardened browsers the heebie-jeebies. Mendez’s dramatic photorealistic portraits and more schematic views of each parasite or predator in action join a selection of close-up stock photos, and Rake describes behaviors or symptoms with indecent relish. “One [Indian red scorpion] sting can cause humans excruciating pain, vomiting, breathlessness, convulsions, and sometimes major heart problems. Oh, and if that isn’t enough, it can also turn a victim’s skin blue and make them froth at the mouth with pink, slimy mucus.” The co-published Creatures of the Deep offers like delights for 10 sea creatures, from the goblin shark to the blobfish and the sarcastic fringehead (yes, really!). Each volume closes with a summary “Rogues’ Gallery” and further notes on selected entries.
Browsers’ delights, but definitely not for the squeamish. (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4677-6362-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hungry Tomato/Lerner
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
No substitute for the original, but an agreeable alternative for younger or less-able readers.
Effective use of light and shadow in the art give this graphic adaptation of the 2003 novel a properly spooky look, but it reads overall more like a summary than a developed story.
Though sticking to a sketchy iteration of the original’s plot rather than the somewhat altered film version (no cave monster, sorry), the tale is told in a visual, cinematic way with an admixture of quick reaction shots and wordless action sequences that allow readers to race along almost as fast as they can turn the pages. The terse exchanges between characters use DuPrau’s words, but as dialogue they sometimes come across as stiff: “…if I go, I must leave Poppy, mustn’t I?” frets Lina. “How can I take her on a journey of such danger?” Still, Asker’s penumbral scenes underground and broad, grassy Eden above are strongly atmospheric and depict both settings and the clearly delineated cast (particularly the grossly corpulent Mayor) in tellingly crisp detail.
No substitute for the original, but an agreeable alternative for younger or less-able readers. (Graphic science fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-375-86821-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
