A mystery at the museum is the perfect case for an aspiring fourth-grade detective. Early one morning before school, Alec gets to go with his father, Officer Flint, to the American History Museum, where somebody has made off with the entire cache of gold coins in the Christopher Columbus exhibit. Curator Dr. Glumsfeld gives Alec an uneasy feeling, but this doesn’t prevent him from trying to crack the case. His neighbor, Emily Berg, has no interest in detection, but the new girl at school, Gina Rossi, shares Alec’s passion for puzzles, and becomes his sidekick. The pair even begins passing coded messages, a puzzle-solving bonus for the reader (with solutions at the back of the book). Santopolo’s prose crackles, and she manages to weave in a fair degree of historical information on Columbus as she spins her yarn (and supplements it with a lengthy Author’s Note). The first in what promises to be a solid middle-grade series in the tradition of Encyclopedia Brown. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: July 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-439-90352-3
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for eager readers of animal adventures.
The first in a new series by the pseudonymous authorial collaboration, this one focusing on pandas.
In the midst of a devastating flood, a giant panda reaches the security of a cave where she can safely birth her cubs. In an initially confusing timeline, the tale then takes up much later with Leaf, who is maturing among a group of pandas in a barren countryside. On the other side of an uncrossable river, Rain, another intrepid panda, is growing up in the Southern Forest, where more previously solitary pandas have gathered. When Sunset Deepwood, the prophesying Dragon Speaker, returns—seemingly from the dead—Rain is immediately suspicious of his behavior, especially concerning his secret meetings with antagonistic monkeys. The storyline switches between these two females and Ghost, a clumsy all-white male who has grown up with his presumed littermates under the tender care of their snow leopard mother, Winter. Although he knows he differs from the other cubs in significant ways, Ghost has no idea he’s actually a panda. After a large earthquake, Leaf comes under the care of Shadowhunter, a tiger who’s sworn to reunite triplet pandas who are destined together to become the next Dragon Speakers, setting up another entry in the series. The animals are well depicted, with clear personalities, and the challenges they face are daunting, nicely sustaining the suspense. Illustrations not seen.
Perfect for eager readers of animal adventures. (map) (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-302192-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
Chaotic, heartwarming, and emotionally satisfying with high stakes that keep readers invested.
Isn’t it supposed to be a good thing to learn you’re the lost heir?
Cordelia adores her family—her fellow triplets, Giles and Rosalind; their older half brother, Connall; her mother; and her mother’s friend who looks after the goats—but their secret castle in the woods is claustrophobic. She longs to turn into an animal and explore, but she’s promised her overprotective mother that she won’t wander off without supervision. Rosalind has her mock sword fighting, and Giles has his music, but Cordelia has only the desperate urge to fly free with her animal shape-shifting powers. Her dream of freedom twists into a nightmare when angry people bearing arms arrive at the castle demanding the war-torn kingdom’s heir. The triplets escape into the woods when the others are taken captive, shocked by uncovered family secrets. Cordelia, learning more of her past, now has her own secrets. It’s one thing to squabble with Giles and Rosalind, but will they forgive her for being as parsimonious with the truth as their mother has been? Ultimately, saving the world requires an unbearable sacrifice and reveals that even loving family members make dreadful mistakes. Though Cordelia and her siblings are primarily sketched in lightly around their traits and hobbies, their emotional journeys are rich, believable, and fulfilling. The triplets are light-skinned, Connall is brown, and the world is racially diverse and has a mixed-gender military.
Chaotic, heartwarming, and emotionally satisfying with high stakes that keep readers invested. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0637-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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