A strong premise let down by its execution.
A long-lost treasure eludes the grasp of a determined adventure seeker.
Fifth grader Graysen Foxx is on the hunt for the trove of Principal Redbeard. The rumored collection of confiscated toys, comic books, trading cards, and old-school gaming devices has been lost to the ages, but Graysen, who reads White, is determined to uncover its location. Unfortunately, his nemesis, Raven Ransom, a redheaded fellow fifth grader, hopes to find the treasure for herself and will stop at nothing to claim it. Graysen is ready for action, feats of derring-do, and the occasional brain teasing puzzle. With third grade twins Maya and Jack Delgado as his allies, The Gray Fox is on the hunt, with Red Raven, her Second Grade Spy Network, and ruthless sixth graders looking at every turn. The riff on Indiana Jones and Uncharted for the middle-grade set works well enough, peppered as it is with effusive verbiage that will get pulses going right from the start. The problem comes when the novel needs to keep up that pace: The high stakes and rollicking action get a bit cumbersome when breathlessly and repeatedly recounted at the same pitch. The modulation is off a bit, making the novel feel too long. Still, Graysen is an engaging protagonist, and his world is charming enough that readers will likely stick with it. Names signal ethnic diversity in the supporting cast. Final art not seen.
A strong premise let down by its execution. (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-63993-103-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride.
Zipping back and forth in time atop outsized robo–bell bottoms, mad inventor Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) legs his way to center stage in this slightly less-labored continuation of episode 9.
The action commences after a rambling recap and a warning not to laugh or smile on pain of being forced to read Sarah Plain and Tall. Pilkey first sends his peevish protagonist back a short while to save the Earth (destroyed in the previous episode), then on to various prehistoric eras in pursuit of George, Harold and the Captain. It’s all pretty much an excuse for many butt jokes, dashes of off-color humor (“Tippy pressed the button on his Freezy-Beam 4000, causing it to rise from the depths of his Robo-Pants”), a lengthy wordless comic and two tussles in “Flip-o-rama.” Still, the chase kicks off an ice age, the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Big Bang (here the Big “Ka-Bloosh!”). It ends with a harrowing glimpse of what George and Harold would become if they decided to go straight. The author also chucks in a poopy-doo-doo song with musical notation (credited to Albert P. Einstein) and plenty of ink-and-wash cartoon illustrations to crank up the ongoing frenzy.
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-17536-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
A candid and powerful reckoning of history.
Summer is off to a terrible start for 12-year old African-American Candice Miller.
Six months after her parents’ divorce, Candice and her mother leave Atlanta to spend the summer in Lambert, South Carolina, at her grandmother’s old house. When her grandmother Abigail passed two years ago, in 2015, Candice and her mother struggled to move on. Now, without any friends, a computer, cellphone, or her grandmother, Candice suffers immense loneliness and boredom. When she starts rummaging through the attic and stumbles upon a box of her grandmother’s belongings, she discovers an old letter that details a mysterious fortune buried in Lambert and that asks Abigail to find the treasure. After Candice befriends the shy, bookish African-American kid next door, 11-year-old Brandon Jones, the pair set off investigating the clues. Each new revelation uncovers a long history of racism and tension in the small town and how one family threatened the black/white status quo. Johnson’s latest novel holds racism firmly in the light. Candice and Brandon discover the joys and terrors of the reality of being African-American in the 1950s. Without sugarcoating facts or dousing it in post-racial varnish, the narrative lets the children absorb and reflect on their shared history. The town of Lambert brims with intrigue, keeping readers entranced until the very last page.
A candid and powerful reckoning of history. (Historical mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-545-94617-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
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