While undeniably goofy and action-packed, this probably won’t gain fans among Egyptians or overweight people.
Third-grade spy Dexter Drabner from Mutant Rat Attack! (2017) returns for another wacky adventure.
A call on his AI skateboard (Battery-Operated Artificial Reasoning Device) from Big K, the head of their city’s chapter of the Super-Secret Spy Kids, summons Dex, Agent SK8, for a mission. But his high-tech (and also stinky) journey to the secret hideout is seen by abrasive new girl Aya (a black girl who provides some diversity to the largely white cast). A burglar has been sniffing around the mummy exhibit, and while on his class field trip, Dex is to try to learn why. The exhibit features the pharaoh Hun-Ga-Re, of the fictional Bur-Pe region of Egypt, famous for—as his name suggests—his appetite. His mummy holds a sandwich, and his sarcophagus a curse: “This hoagie can raise the dead! HANDS OFF!” After Dex catches Aya going for the mummy’s sandwich, robot ninjas commanded by the real villain appear and the fight wakes Hun-Ga-Re. Using nail polish, Aya transforms into the Pink Lynx, and the slapstick conflict escalates in a series of comic-strip panels with the action described play by play as if it were a football game. The silliness turns mean when, at the climax, Hun-Ga-Re spots fellow fat person/school bully Millicent wrapped in toilet paper, falls in love, and raises the dead against the villains to protect her.
While undeniably goofy and action-packed, this probably won’t gain fans among Egyptians or overweight people. (glossary) (Adventure. 7-12)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-93298-1
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans.
Only children, rejoice! A cozy mystery just for you! (People with siblings will probably enjoy it too.)
Debut novelist Cornett introduces the One and Onlys, a trio of mystery-solving only kids: Gloria Longshanks “Shanks” Hill, Alexander “Peephole” Calloway, and narrator Paul (alas, no nickname) Marconi. The trio has a knack for finding and solving low-level mysteries, but they come up against a true head-scratcher when the yard of a resident of their small town is covered in rubber ducks overnight. Working ahead of Officer Portnoy, who’s a little on the slow side, can Paul, Shanks, and Peephole solve the mystery? Cornett has a lot of fun with this adventure, dropping additional side mysteries, a subplot about small businesses, big corporations, and economics, and a town’s love of bratwurst into the mix. Most importantly, he plays fair with the clues throughout, allowing astute readers to potentially solve the case ahead of the trio. The tone and mystery are perfect for younger readers who want to test their detective skills but are put off by anything scary or gory. The pacing would serve well for chapter-by-chapter read-alouds. If there are any quibbles, it’s the lack of diversity of the cast, as it defaults white. Diversity exists in small towns, and this one is crying out for more. Hopefully a sequel will introduce additional faces.
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-3003-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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