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UNDER AMELIA'S WING

Name: UNDER AMELIA'S WING
Author: Heather Stemp
ISBN: 978-1-77108-850-3

From the Ginny Ross series , Vol. 2

by Heather Stemp ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2021

A satisfying read for those seeking heroes who steadily, believably break the mold.

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Determined to become a pilot, Ginny Ross leaves Newfoundland and, at Amelia Earhart’s suggestion, studies at Purdue University, where she helps broaden views of what women can do.

Several years have passed since Ginny announced her desire to fly in Amelia & Me (2021). It’s an unusual goal for a girl in the 1930s, but Ginny is more confident now that her mother supports her. With her role model Earhart joining the staff at Purdue, Ginny applied and was accepted. Being a woman in the engineering program is hard—not so much the studies, but confronting, let alone changing, attitudes about the role of women in society. Professor Jones, for example, repeatedly tries to derail her, but new friends, including a love interest, bolster her. Personal matters and historical events begin to collide in the last third of the book as it races to cover Earhart’s around-the-world flight, her tragic end, and the ominous events in Europe leading to World War II. The last chapters, taking place in 1940, set the stage for the next adventure. If earning her degree was a battle, a larger one looms ahead for Ginny. This entry—also based on the author’s own family—with a default White cast works as a stand-alone. As in the previous volume, Ginny’s spark, compassion, and resiliency are appealing.

A satisfying read for those seeking heroes who steadily, believably break the mold. (photos, author's note) (Historical fiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: March 31, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-77108-850-3

Page Count: 232

Publisher: Nimbus Publishing

Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

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SECRETS OF THE PURPLE PEARL

From the Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science series , Vol. 2

by Kate McKinnon ; illustrated by Alfredo Cáceres ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 30, 2025

Unforgettably quirky, fast-paced fun.

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In a race against their enemies, the Porch girls must find a peculiar pearl in order to foil a fiendish plot.

After defeating a monstrous Kyrgalops in The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science (2024), Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee Porch find themselves (after a series of madcap events) at Lake Kagloopy’s Purple Pearl Hotel with their mentor, Millicent Quibb. Quibb informs the trio that they must find the titular pearl before the members of their evil mad-scientist rivals, the KRA, do. If they fail, the KRA (whose members include the malevolent mayor, Majestina DeWeen, and her slimy sycophantic lawyer, Ashley Cookie) plans to use the gem to bestow the Gift of Endless Vibrancy on the villainous Talon Sharktūth. Hilarity ensues as the Porches attend the annual Shrimp Ball, encounter Umbrella Turkeys, search for Cloudite (floating cloud rocks), and don invisible but smelly woolen coats. Jokes aside, the girls’ story is intriguing, offering more clues to their mysterious backgrounds and tantalizing tidbits promising later adventures. McKinnon offers bountiful backstory (alongside a running joke to encourage readers to pick up the preceding volume) and enough guffaw-inducing jokes, zany footnotes, and creative jargon to enthrall readers both new and old with her delightful sophomore effort. Mixing humor, found family, and well-wrought worldbuilding, this sequel is a certain crowd pleaser. Final art not seen; in the previous book, the grayscale illustrations showed the girls with varying skin tones.

Unforgettably quirky, fast-paced fun. (appendices) (Adventure. 8-12)

Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025

ISBN: 9780316555296

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MILLICENT QUIBB SCHOOL OF ETIQUETTE FOR YOUNG LADIES OF MAD SCIENCE
by Kate McKinnon ; illustrated by Alfredo Cáceres

- SEEN & HEARD
Sequel to ‘Millicent Quibb’ Coming in the Fall

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THE WILD ROBOT PROTECTS

From the Wild Robot series , Vol. 3

by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.

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Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.

When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)