by J. Torres ; illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2014
Hitting “The End” will just make fans want to start over again.
In this trilogy conclusion, Rufus returns to the north woods, but can he do anything to save them without his mystic totem?
Talon the raven and his greedy mob have stolen the Q’achi totem that allows Rufus to transform into Bigfoot Boy, protector of the north woods. As Penny and Rufus search for the ravens, time is running out for the woods; a real estate company is bulldozing trees to make way for a golf course despite the protests of people like Penny’s sister, Aurora. Without the totem, Rufus can’t understand his flying-squirrel sidekick, Sidney, or talk to the wolves who have seen the error of their ways and now want to help Rufus. The trio discover more of the totem’s history, but can they recover it in time to save the woods and satisfy the spirit of the Thunderbird? Canadians Torres and Hicks conclude their woodsy trilogy with an exciting adventure dotted with humor. Rufus and Penny’s attempts to understand Sidney’s charades are a hoot. Rufus has worked a bit of his city-boy out, but his bumbles and stumbles continue to round out his character. Hicks’ heavily lined panels bring the woods to life. Readers new to the series will be a bit lost, but no graphic-novel shelf serving young nature or cryptid fans should be without the whole trilogy.
Hitting “The End” will just make fans want to start over again. (Graphic fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-894786-58-4
Page Count: 100
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 15, 2013
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
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by K.R. Alexander ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 7, 2022
Thrills galore for gamers willing to go along for the ride.
A new virtual-reality theme park goes haywire on a crowd of young victims, er, visitors in Alexander’s latest screamfest.
Having scored one of just 100 coveted preview tickets to a cutting-edge, kids-only venue dubbed ESCAPE, budding amusement park fan and designer Cody Baxter is looking forward to a life-changing experience. What he gets is more of a life-threatening one, as games and rides with names like Triassic Terror and Haunted Hillside not only pit him against a monster and then zombies—or sometimes a monster and zombies—as well as ruthless competing players, but seem tailored to play on individual personal terrors. And, in some never explained way, the VR quickly turns into real battles that inflict real wounds even as the real settings shift with sudden, dizzying unpredictability. Teaming up with loyal new friends Jayson Torn and Inga Andersdottir, the former described as being Japanese and White and the latter as Norwegian, Cody (who seems to default to White) struggles for survival, learning ultimately that ESCAPE was created by an evil genius with an ulterior motive who is convinced that he can teach children a salutary lesson. The plot’s no more logical in its twists and contrivances than the premise, but the author’s knack for spinning out nightmarish situations is definitely on display here as the tale careens toward a properly lurid outcome.
Thrills galore for gamers willing to go along for the ride. (Light horror. 9-12)Pub Date: June 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-26047-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022
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