Nolen (Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm, 1994) unearths some unique livestock in this tale of a farmer’s daughter who braves her parents’ skepticism to hatch and raise a flying, fire-breathing dragon. Initially no bigger than a sheep, Hank the dragon grows to the size of a barn; even though he is a sloppy eater, he proves handy around the farm, popping a whole field of corn all at once and raising tomatoes that a neighbor claims cured her gout. In Primavera’s glowing acrylics, Hank looms like an iridescent Dinosaur Bob over his bright-eyed, pig-tailed companion, smiling with a puppy-like friendliness as he listens to a bedtime story or catches sight of a gigantic eel pot pie coming his way. Public attention eventually forces him to move to the volcanic island where the other dragons live, but he leaves behind a wheelbarrow full of glowing eggs as a parting present. A fresh and cheery tall tale, told in an appropriately matter-of-fact tone. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-15-201288-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1998
Lovely and evocative, just the thing to spark an interest in the original and its sequels—and the upcoming film sequel, Mary...
Refined, spit-spot–tidy illustrations infuse a spare adaptation of the 1934 classic with proper senses of decorum and wonder.
Novesky leaves out much—the Bird Woman, Adm. Boom, that ethnically problematic world tour, even Mr. and Mrs. Banks—but there’s still plenty going on. Mary Poppins introduces Jane and Michael (their twin younger sibs are mentioned but seem to be left at home throughout) to the Match-Man and the buoyant Mr. Wigg, lets them watch Mrs. Corry and her daughters climb tall ladders to spangle the night sky with gilt stars, and takes them to meet the zoo animals (“Bird and beast, star and stone—we are all one,” says the philosophical bear). At last, when the wind changes, she leaves them with an “Au revoir!” (“Which means, Dear Reader, ‘to meet again.’ ”) Slender and correct, though with dangling forelocks that echo and suggest the sweeping curls of wind that bring her in and carry her away, Mary Poppins takes the role of impresario in Godbout’s theatrically composed scenes, bearing an enigmatic smile throughout but sharing with Jane and Michael (and even the parrot-headed umbrella) an expression of wide-eyed, alert interest as she shepherds them from one marvelous encounter to the next. The Corrys have brown skin; the rest of the cast presents white.
Lovely and evocative, just the thing to spark an interest in the original and its sequels—and the upcoming film sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, which opens in December 2018. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-328-91677-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
A solid start to a new chapter-book series.
Archie Morningstar has been waiting for “eight years, eight months, and eight days” to ride along with his taxicab-driving father. But when the night finally arrives, the experience proves to be out of this world.
Archie had been looking forward to seeing more of the city, but his father is no ordinary cabbie. He drives a space taxi, with fares all over the known universe. Archie serves as his father’s co-pilot for the night, helping him navigate wormholes, avoid asteroid fields and work the taxi’s thrusters. But things get really interesting when Archie meets Intergalactic Security Force deputy Pilarbing Fangorius Catapolitus, aka Pockets, a talking space police cat who can shoot lasers out of his tail. Together, cat and boy take down a dangerous member of the evil organization BURP. Archie can hardly believe his luck when his father agrees not only to allow Pockets to live with them, but to take Archie on as his permanent co-pilot. Zany adventures, a wacky plot and plenty of slapstick humor make this a quick, enjoyable read. Simple illustrations and a trio of scientific definitions add to the narrative.
A solid start to a new chapter-book series. (Adventure. 6-9)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-316-24319-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
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