A compelling story that just might teach young readers something about facing their fears of things that go “bump” in the...
“Pinkaboo” used to be an insult…until Bitterly and her best buds, Belladonna and Abyssma, reclaim and use it to silence the bullies.
Fright School is tough, and it only gets harder for the little vampire when she must deal daily with Vex, the green-faced (literally) bully who blocks the school gates. Bitterly feels even more exposed when her teacher, Miss Viper, a bespectacled, blue-haired serpent, chooses her to enter the dream of her little girl, Molly, to help her defeat a giant that plagues Molly’s dreams nightly. After being sucked into their huge classroom screen, Bitterly attempts to resolve Molly’s fear while her classmates watch from the comfort of their desks. Disappointed at Bitterly’s unconventional and decidedly un-monstrous strategy, Miss Viper expects more and shows her via the screen how she taught her own little girl to defeat dream witches. This enables Bitterly to imagine better strategies for helping Molly, but it also helps her manage her own antagonists. Drawing from a palette of primarily pink and green, Kelly immerses readers in this strange world of not-so-scary monsters, giving a distinctive appearance and personality to each creature. Both the protagonist and the antagonist are dynamic, keeping the story humming along. Companion title Belladonna and the Nightmare Academy publishes simultaneously.
A compelling story that just might teach young readers something about facing their fears of things that go “bump” in the night . (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4494-7831-5
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
A mystery, a school story, sibling rivalry and the loss of a pet blend surprisingly well in this engaging chapter book. Charmingly awkward fifth grader Edgar Allan decides to solve a series of minor thefts that are plaguing his teacher, Ms. Herschel. Clues are plentiful—and rhymed—but the competition to solve them is fierce. Edgar’s nemesis, Patrick Chen, seems to have the inside track since his dad works in forensics. Edgar, however, finds that the friends he makes along the way provide the winning edge. Including transcripts of Edgar’s ingenuous interviews as well as poems written by a number of class members in her narrative, Amato provides a clear picture of both social and family dynamics while keeping the story moving smoothly along. The author’s characteristic humor is somewhat muted, but examples of amusing wordplay abound. Some readers may guess the identity of the culprit more quickly than Edgar and his friends do, but whodunit is not really the point. Solving puzzles, making friends and learning to see the world more clearly are the true aims of this adventure. (Mystery. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2271-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
Despite missteps, this satisfying follow-up will leave readers hoping for more magical adventures with lovable Jax and...
Jaxon and his friends deal with the fallout from the theft of one of the baby dragons in his charge.
As this sequel to Dragons in a Bag (2018) opens, Kavita, the titular dragon thief, introduces elderly Aunty to stolen baby dragon Mo. Thankfully, Aunty knows someone in Queens who can help return Mo to the realm of magic. Meanwhile, and in alternating first-person chapters, Jax is trying to find Kavi and Mo, as Mo’s siblings have grown ill as a result of the separation, as has Ma, Jax’s magical mentor and grandmother figure. Jax again teams up with his best friend and Kavi’s older brother, Vik. A third is added to their crew with “huge” Kenny, “the biggest kid in [their] class.” (Unfortunately, much is made of Kenny’s size, which feels gratuitous and unkind.) Eventually the trio finds Kavi, Aunty, and Mo, who’ve been abducted by a magical con artist. All’s well that ends well when Sis, the powerful guardian of the magic realm, shows up, but readers may wonder why the narrative decides to grapple with her choice not to intervene in injustice in our world. Her argument that human-caused problems are for humans to solve feels undeveloped, especially in the face of a massive injustice like the trans-Atlantic slave trade (mentioned during the climax and at no other point). Jax is black; Vik, Kavi, and Aunty are Indian American (though Aunty has African ancestry as well); and Kenny is white. The rest of the cast is diverse as well.
Despite missteps, this satisfying follow-up will leave readers hoping for more magical adventures with lovable Jax and company. (Urban fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-7049-5
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
