A pox on the haters! Secure the mainsail and set a course for a howling good adventure.
A literary cur teaches her fellow buccaneers that there be treasure in them thar books!
Book-smart pup Nell joins an all-dog pirate crew with big dreams. “For great adventures filled her head / from every tale she’d ever read.” She even has her trusty Pirate’s Almanac to help this young dog learn some new tricks. But Capt. Gnash, an amputee bulldog with a bone for a prosthesis instead of a peg leg, has no respect for bookishness and belittles the peppy pup. Undeterred, Nell finds a treasure map only to have it snatched by Gnash. Ignoring Nell’s good advice, he soon finds himself in need of her rescue, and when the treasure is at last discovered, is it any wonder that it’s 20 treasure chests full of books? Gnash sees the error of his ways, and Nell not only teaches the crew to read, but converts the boat into a floating library. The upbeat rhyming text keeps the plot moving at a fair clip and sails past the occasional awkward turn of phrase (is it possible to “snap…with a sneer”?). Cheery art has a friendly, cartoony look, and its buoyant tenor will make even the scurviest wag yearn for a tropical isle of their own. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-22.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 27.7% of actual size.)
A pox on the haters! Secure the mainsail and set a course for a howling good adventure. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-9867-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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