Irresistible storytelling and a meticulous plot conjure pure New England magic.
Jones’ debut YA novel sees young adventurers attempt to retrieve a series of Native American amulets and save Maine’s Mount Desert Island.
Abenaki lore states that the tribe once shared Mount Desert Island, Maine, with gigantic lobsters. When the two groups began crowding each other, the lobsters agreed to leave for the ocean. The Abenaki promised to continue properly caring for the land. Both tribes sealed the agreement by creating an orb, which they secured in the base of Cadillac Mountain. Now, greedy industrialist Barton Baxter has learned about the orb from an ancient Abenaki parchment. By stealing it, he sets disastrous events in motion that threaten everyone on Mount Desert Island. Marine biologist Dr. Banke is summoned from Boston to discover why lobsters are congregating at the island—growing larger and more ferocious in the process. Meanwhile, forces have placed another Abenaki book, once belonging to Baxter’s childhood friend Amelia, in the hands of Ani, Banke’s teenage daughter. Ani and her sister, Eliza, must race to locate amulets that Amelia once wore and restore the covenant between the Abenaki and the lobsters—before the crustaceans retake the island. Jones uses clear, clever prose to narrate Ani and Eliza’s quest: “Unbeknownst to most humans, squirrels run subterfuge on a regular basis [keeping] Homo sapiens from seeing what really happens in the animal kingdom.” There’s also a reverence for nature throughout, emphasized by Ani’s communication with animals. But these plot points only hint at Jones’ always rollicking imagination and penchant for twists, as when Eliza thinks she sees Spider-Man. While primarily for younger readers, the novel also includes adult subtlety: Barton thinks of long-lost Amelia and doesn’t “want his mind to go where it always took him, but lately he had been too tired and too weak to stop both his memory and his what-ifs.”
Irresistible storytelling and a meticulous plot conjure pure New England magic.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-1938883651
Page Count: 477
Publisher: Maine Authors Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves
A young child explores the unlimited potential inherent in all humans.
“Have you ever wondered why you are here?” asks the second-person narration. There is no one like you. Maybe you’re here to make a difference with your uniqueness; maybe you will speak for those who can’t or use your gifts to shine a light into the darkness. The no-frills, unrhymed narrative encourages readers to follow their hearts and tap into their limitless potential to be anything and do anything. The precisely inked and colored artwork plays with perspective from the first double-page spread, in which the child contemplates a mountain (or maybe an iceberg) in their hands. Later, they stand on a ladder to place white spots on tall, red mushrooms. The oversized flora and fauna seem to symbolize the presumptively insurmountable, reinforcing the book’s message that anything is possible. This quiet read, with its sophisticated central question, encourages children to reach for their untapped potential while reminding them it won’t be easy—they will make messes and mistakes—but the magic within can help overcome falls and failures. It’s unlikely that members of the intended audience have begun to wonder about their life’s purpose, but this life-affirming mood piece has honorable intentions. The child, accompanied by an adorable piglet and sporting overalls and a bird-beaked cap made of leaves, presents white.
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves . (Picture book. 2-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-946873-75-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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