Gryphons might not be great, but this sweet tale of friendship certainly is. (Graphic early reader. 4-7)
The Knight and his noble steed, Edward, find their friendship challenged when the Knight turns his attention to a new friend: a gryphon.
The garrulous Knight and his trusty, taciturn horse, Edward, are the best of friends. One day, while gallivanting around the kingdom (and unsuccessfully attempting to fly by jumping off a cliff), the Knight spies a gryphon aloft. Excited at the prospect of actual flight, he calls out to the mystical creature, and the two—after a slightly rocky start—become fast friends. They spend their day soaring across a robin's-egg-blue sky, as poor, forgotten Edward sits on the ground awaiting his friend's return. The next day, the Knight can barely contain himself as he waits for the gryphon's arrival. However, their sophomore flight doesn't go as smoothly as yesterday’s, and suddenly it's up to Edward to help his friend. Sturm et al. have crafted a gentle yet effective tale of friendship laid out in a clean panel structure and related with economical prose. This lively frolic is sure to please young readers, who should be not only able to relate to the feeling of being cast out of a friendship when someone new comes along and changes the dynamic, but also to read this independently.
Gryphons might not be great, but this sweet tale of friendship certainly is. (Graphic early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-59643-652-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
Perhaps future outings of the Shenandoah will prove more seaworthy.
It’s Black Dog and the crew of the schooner Shenandoah to the rescue!
In the harbor at Vineyard Haven there is adventure afoot. “It always starts in the same way / and ends when Black Dog saves the day.” A bottle washes against the dock, and Captain reads the note inside. Whale is in trouble! “Bark! Bark! Bark! ‘Let’s go and help!’ / Her message spreads from fish to kelp.” Kids Tess and Jack join Captain and Black Dog, and they sail off to help the whale. They pour seawater on the cetacean to keep him cool before pulling him back out to sea. Whale thanks them, and “With a last tail wave and a great big SPLISH, / Whale dives down to greet some fish.” Black Dog and the crew return home satisfied. “Black Dog, Captain and the schooner’s crew / Will go on other journeys too.” Employing doggerel that doesn’t always scan or even make total sense, teen author Schmidt (Hold Me Like a Breath, 2015, etc.) makes an inauspicious picture-book debut with this first of a projected series of adventures for Black Dog and company. Theophilopoulos’ animation-inspired illustrations are barely serviceable, not nearly accomplished enough to make up for the tortured rhyming text.
Perhaps future outings of the Shenandoah will prove more seaworthy. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9960666-1-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Adaptive Studios
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet treat. More, please! (Picture book. 4-7)
Anna and her six extremely animate toy animals are back—this time, for an ultimately collaborative adventure in the kitchen.
Pingpong the penguin announces, “Anna, I’m as hungry as a bear.” When Anna offers a lesson on baking a chocolate cake, everyone’s in. In a double-page spread, Anna directs each animal to fetch ingredients stowed all around the kitchen. The action—and plenty of it—unfolds in Dormal’s soft-colored mixed-media panels, with Roques' dialogue in bubbles. Grizzler claims that he’d “rather bake by myself, in the living room.” Meanwhile, Fuzzball’s untutored way with utensils and the batter—“SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!”—gives rise to a wayward swing, an airborne, ricocheting bowl, and a stupendous detonation of chocolate that spares no critter or surface. Grizzler interrupts the escalating squabbles by entering the kitchen with a perfectly baked cake, and when he heads off to make another, skeptical Anna and the animals follow him—to the village bakery. Lesson learned (don’t cheat to impress), Grizzler rejoins the others as they complete their deliciously cooperative venture and share the fresh-from-the-oven result. Mother-and-son team Roques and Dormal deliver another comics-driven mix of gentle instruction and giggle-inducing visuals.
A sweet treat. More, please! (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 16, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62672-020-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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