Plot twists, magic, danger and action keep this YA fantasy novel moving swiftly along.
Unlikely allies team up to save a forest in this middle-grade novel.
In McFadden’s debut, a young feline befriends a wise old tree. Cat enjoys listening to Tree’s stories, which are more than just entertainment: They’re the true account of a tree named Live (later revealed to be Tree’s actual name) and his siblings, who tried and failed to stand up to an entity called the Dark Shadow in their youth. Now that the Dark Shadow is returning to the forest, Tree needs Cat’s help to unite his separated siblings. Meanwhile, in the human world, a young man named Cornerback is concerned by the plastic ribbons appearing on the trees in his beloved forest. He’s also troubled by the way his father, the town mayor, has been behaving; he’s seemed off ever since he had an accident in the woods a year ago. As Cat travels to find Tree’s relatives, other forest creatures help her gather acorns and leaves, as Tree requested; at the same time, Cornerback is busy training a new puppy and building a tree fort with his best friend. It’s a leap year, and on Feb. 29, a rare lunar eclipse is set to occur; it’s also Cornerback’s, his father’s and his grandmother’s birthdays. The young man sneaks out to the forest to watch the celestial sight—and soon ends up joining Cat, the forest creatures and trees in a fight against the Dark Shadow. The novel relays its conservation message in an original way, although younger readers might miss it in all the action. While talking animals are fairly common in fiction, talking trees (which are a bit more mobile than average plants) lend the book a magical feel, as does Cornerback’s ability to understand animal languages. At times, Cat’s and Cornerback’s parallel stories feel like two separate novels. However, Cornerback’s often humorous antics help to add a lighter tone to Cat’s serious, time-sensitive assignment to track down Live’s siblings.
Plot twists, magic, danger and action keep this YA fantasy novel moving swiftly along.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0990398806
Page Count: 184
Publisher: TreeCat Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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