Another fun, pun-filled stroll through a delightful witching world.
Jazzy’s back!
Jazzy, the “famous biking witch,” and her gal pal Aggie are preparing for a new school year at the Enchantra School of Craft. On the first day of school, Jazzy and Aggie meet their new classmate, Estrella Moonbeam, who over the course of just one day manages to provide all the right answers in Madame Melcha’s witchstory class, take over Aggie’s role as assistant to Madame Henbane, and insult Jazzy’s stitching of her broom seat. After Estrella challenges Jazzy to a bike race to school—and beats her—the friends declare that they must keep an eye on Estrella. Will Jazzy and Aggie ever find common ground with the new girl? The book approaches themes of insecurity, bullying, and unkindness with care and lots of comic touches that lighten the mood. Jazzy lives with her moms and Granny Titch, broommakers who run a local besom shop. They’re always willing to dispense sage advice and, following a comical mix-up with a broom supplies order, lots and lots of popcorn. Mom, Mama, and Granny Titch help Jazzy see Estrella in a different and more compassionate light. The simple backgrounds, primarily in white and shades of gray, allow the brightly colored people and important objects to pop. Jazzy and her family read Black, aqua-haired Aggie appears white, and Estrella has tan skin and purple hair.
Another fun, pun-filled stroll through a delightful witching world. (witch information and activities, minicomic) (Graphic adventure. 7-11)Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781665922357
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
Thought-provoking and charming.
A sophisticated robot—with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell—is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500.
When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment—not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different “accent”). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz’s growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell’s The Animal Family. At every moment Roz’s actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz’s benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions—and readers—with hope.
Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-38199-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face.
Four misunderstood villains endeavor to turn over a new leaf…or a new rap sheet in Blabey's frenzied romp.
As readers open the first page of this early chapter book, Mr. Wolf is right there to greet them, bemoaning his reputation. "Just because I've got BIG POINTY TEETH and RAZOR-SHARP CLAWS and I occasionally like to dress up like an OLD LADY, that doesn't mean… / … I'm a BAD GUY." To prove this very fact, Mr. Wolf enlists three equally slandered friends into the Good Guys Club: Mr. Snake (aka the Chicken Swallower), Mr. Piranha (aka the Butt Biter), and Mr. Shark (aka Jaws). After some convincing from Mr. Wolf, the foursome sets off determined to un-smirch their names (and reluctantly curbing their appetites). Although these predators find that not everyone is ready to be at the receiving end of their helpful efforts, they use all their Bad Guy know-how to manage a few hilarious good deeds. Blabey has hit the proverbial nail on the head, kissed it full on the mouth, and handed it a stick of Acme dynamite. With illustrations that startle in their manic comedy and deadpan direct address and with a narrative that follows four endearingly sardonic characters trying to push past (sometimes successfully) their fear-causing natures, this book instantly joins the classic ranks of Captain Underpants and The Stinky Cheese Man.
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-91240-2
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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