More empty calories than full-bodied treat.
Does ninja cat Timmy have what it takes to save the city’s children?
In a steampunk-y town peopled by humans and anthropomorphic animals, orphan cat Timmy and his ragtag group of animal friends find their newest invention stolen by the mean Gribbles, a gang of warthog cousins. Timmy’s about to give up when he meets magical human toymaker Alfred, who gifts Timmy and his friends with everything they need to become ninja crime fighters. With the help of a kitty girl pilot named Flores, the friends uncover the evil plot of the Blue Rabbit, an early creation of Alfred’s that’s turned bad. He’s stealing the laughter of children all over town in hopes of making himself a soul. When Flores is kidnapped, the animal friends spring into action to save the day. Swedish-American artist and designer Tamm’s painterly, full-color illustrations are eye-catching if a bit stiff, though Flores’ exaggerated eyelashes are disappointingly stereotypical. And unfortunately, his prose is twee, clumsy, and full of clichés. In this haphazard tale, underdeveloped characters are given the tools they need to succeed, but they aren’t given the chance thanks to deus ex toymaker. Fortunately, the type is big, the pages are thick, and the illustrations are many, so the book may well draw readers.
More empty calories than full-bodied treat. (Fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-74451-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
A sweet and engaging story that may need a little work to find readers who are ready for it.
Rafi the irrepressible tree frog is back with his younger, plucky sister, Rosi, in three new adventures that all center on Puerto Rico’s El Morro fort, each short chapter featuring an element of this National Historic Site.
First, Rafi re-creates Cofresí’s battles on top of the fort’s pile of cannonballs when he discovers he’s related to the Robin Hood–like pirate. After lunch, the siblings decide to jimmy a loose brick with a stick in the fort’s kitchen. They find Spanish coins and are very excited until they realize they can’t keep them. However, Rosi asks the fort museum’s historian and is given permission to make rubbings to keep as mementos. Later that same afternoon, a “haunted” sentry box at the fort provides an opportunity for a game of hide-and-seek with a surprise ending. Publishing simultaneously in separate Spanish and English editions, the story is the same in both. However the vocabulary in the former is far more advanced than in the latter, and the glossary doesn’t address many of the potentially unfamiliar words, such as “desperdigaron” and “desparramadas.” Contrary to the “Early Fluent” designation, the Spanish edition of this early reader may prove to be a challenge for many children below the second grade. Also, the glossary in the English edition inexplicably provides anglicized phonetics for a well-known word: gracias. Instead of the common two-syllable pronunciation, the diphthong is ignored in favor of a three-syllable pronunciation, “GRAH-see-ahs.” Both editions include historical notes and activities that will be welcomed in most classrooms.
A sweet and engaging story that may need a little work to find readers who are ready for it. (Early reader. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-89239-383-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
A quiet tale about a sensitive soul
An unnamed Cree boy learns from an elder master carver, a stray dog, and a porcupine.
A stray dog wanders into his family’s orbit and stays, so the boy and his brother call her Atim, the Cree word for dog. It’s hunting season. Last year the narrator realized he could not kill animals, but he is reluctant to tell his family. On his birthday, however, cousin Stan thoughtfully gives him a camera mounted on a gunstock so the boy can hunt in a different way. When Atim and the boy go hunting, they spy a porcupine up a tree. Atim startles it, and the porcupine replies in quills. With everybody’s help, the quills in Atim’s snout are removed, but the boy’s brother jeers at him for not protecting the dog with a real gun. Soon, Lindy, a master stone carver, visits and sees potential in the boy’s carvings, inviting the lad to spend a day with other stone artists, from whom the boy learns carving techniques and lessons about the porcupine. This is the second book in Pinkney’s Soapstone Signs series. Not a Cree by birth, Pinkney spent years as a development consultant near the Cree Nation. The book portrays a modern Cree family and includes Cree vocabulary, but his choice not to give his protagonist a name is a puzzling if not troubling one that may well confuse his readers.
A quiet tale about a sensitive soul . (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1472-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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