by Jack Henseleit ; illustrated by Ryan Andrews ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2019
Trip-trap. This excellent, eerie folkloric fare will thrill young readers.
Sibling heroes take on a sinister river troll. But will they live to tell the tale?
A month after their run-in with a vampire in Transylvania (The Vampire Knife, 2018), Anna, Max, and their father arrive in foggy England at the Goat’s Beard Hotel. Max’s bloodless, lifeless hand is a gray-white memento of the dangers that come with their newfound knowledge of “fairy-monsters” that exist alongside humans. Mystery soon finds the family again as they learn of a missing boy. Local nursery rhymes warn of a child-snatcher named Mr. Shellycoat, a clear clue that something monstrous is afoot. With Anna’s magical knife at the ready, the siblings trudge toward Mr. Shellycoat’s river, where their curiosity leads them to a troll’s bridge. The toll to cross: blood or gold—or else become the next kids to disappear. In a clear homage to “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” Australian author Henseleit weaves a new spin on the trend of modern Brothers Grimm series. The fast pace and plenty of cliffhanger chapter endings will keep readers invested in the story. Though few in number, Andrews’ detailed, scratchy-lined ink illustrations evoke animated cinema with a gothic twist. Italicized Norwegian phrases appear untranslated in a few conversations; the text offers context clues to help unfamiliar readers decode. The cast is presumed white by default.
Trip-trap. This excellent, eerie folkloric fare will thrill young readers. (Fantasy/mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-52472-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 26, 2014
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Mónica Armiño ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2019
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey.
Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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