If childhood were a place….
In the adultless land of Hokey Pokey, a dry, sandy environment reminiscent of the Southwest, children arrive when they’ve outgrown diapers and receive a ticklish tattoo of an eye on their abdomens. At midday they line up for a serving of hokey pokey, an ice treat in any flavor imaginable. The rest of their day is spent playing, watching a giant television with nonstop cartoons or riding bicycles, which are horselike creatures that roll in herds and can buck their owners off at will. In this inventive, modern fable, Jack awakens with a bad feeling that’s realized when his legendary Scramjet bike is stolen by Jubilee, a girl no less, and his tattoo has started to fade. As he searches for his bike and the reason why “[t]he world is rushing at him, confusing him, alarming him,” he recalls The Story about The Kid who grew up and hinted at tomorrow, an unrecognizable place to children. With nods to J.M. Barrie, Dr. Seuss and Philip Pullman, Newbery Medalist Spinelli crafts stunning turns of phrase as Jack “unfunks” and tries to “dehappen” the day’s events. While reluctantly accepting his growing up, Jack brings Hokey Pokey’s bully to justice, suddenly finds Jubilee an interesting companion and prepares his Amigos for his imminent departure. A masterful, bittersweet recognition of coming-of-age. (Fiction. 10-13, adult)
Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-83198-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Piratical fun well-stocked with colorful cast members living and arrghh.
A new bedroom with seven high-spirited spirits! Just the place where shyness goes to die.
Thanks to smothering parents and a bullying classmate, young Lewis is such a skittish wreck that he’s unable to speak at all in school. An isolated tower room in Shornoway, a ramshackle seaside mansion that his family has inherited, seems like the perfect hideout—until, that is, he discovers that he’s sharing space with a boisterous, argumentative crew of pirates two centuries dead. Terror turns to cautious acceptance as he discovers that his ghostly roommates are captivated by tales of Capt. Hook and Long John Silver. Lewis also learns that if only they can be reunited with their old ship, now housed in the town museum, they will happily sail off for a fabled pirate haven. But for all their bluster and cutlass-waving, these sea dogs are leery of venturing out into the modern world. Their tendency to become visible when upset becomes an issue when one follows him to school. This and other incidents forcibly chip away at Lewis’ reserve, leaving him not only ready to lead the pirates publicly down to the museum, but to perform heroically when the ship turns out to have a rival spectral crew. Bailey endows Lewis with several scene-stealing allies (notably a fierce kindergartener) and leaves him confidently steering a course toward calm waters.
Piratical fun well-stocked with colorful cast members living and arrghh. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-77049-815-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This delightful series opener is an exciting blend of Russian and Jewish traditions
A Jewish girl meets dragons in a fantastical version of Kievan Rus’, where magic has been illegal for 10 years.
Anya’s the only Jewish child in Zmeyreka. In the mostly Christian 10th-century village, Anya’s family stands out: Her father’s father remains pagan, while her mother’s people are refugee Khazars and Mountain Jews. But unbeknownst to Anya, her village is not like the rest of Kievan Rus’. Magical creatures are nearly extinct everywhere else but common in Zmeyreka. The tsar’s sent a “fool family”—users of fool magic, authorized to use magic despite the ban—to capture the last dragon in the land. The youngest fool is Anya’s age (he’s named Ivan, just like his seven older brothers), and the two become fast friends. But can Anya really bring herself to help Ivan kill a dragon that hasn’t harmed anyone? Zmeyreka’s magical creatures are both helpful and frightening; there are dragons, leshiye, vodyaniye, and even a Jewish domovoi with a little kippah. Ivan, unlike his pale father and brothers, is dark-skinned like his mother, a princess from “far to the east.” Though historical accuracy isn’t perfect (Anya anticipates her bat mitzvah, for instance, and reads Hebrew), it is a fantasy, and anachronisms don’t detract from the adventures of truly likable characters in this original setting.
This delightful series opener is an exciting blend of Russian and Jewish traditions . (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-358-00607-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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