by Joan Spilman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 11, 2013
A masterfully weird adventure, likely to leave fantasy lovers in awe.
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A teen unlocks the secrets of a mysterious wooden head in this whimsical YA fantasy.
At Boyle Middle School, seventh-grader Alec Mulroon lives to annoy his classmates and teachers. Hurling insults and fake vomit, he acts out for the attention he doesn’t get at home. His father is deceased, and his mother travels the world, concerned mainly with her tan. She does mail Alec presents, like bicycles and baseball mitts, that his caretakers, Wallace and Miranda Bairton, would have loved as children. Still, Alec resents his mother’s attempts to buy his affection. Then, incredibly, in the mail he receives a carved wooden head, which soon begins talking to Alec in private, calling itself Sansablatt and telling him fanciful bedtime tales about a place called Quelle. There, wizards known as Skylls fly through the air and summon anything they wish through Calling Doors; there are also Swarthy Giants and a feisty General in Chief named Eugenia McPherson McNutt. After hearing several tales about the magical realm—and one startling secret about Sansablatt’s origin—Alec is sure he’s destined to visit Quelle. But what awaits the teen if the fabulous stories actually come from his own restless mind? Author Spilman’s playful story will have readers racing for the answer. And even before the magic begins, fiendishly animated prose casts a spell: “Beneath the [head’s] glare he detected a gleam, beneath the gleam, a twinkle, and finally, finally, beneath that, what could only be described as a wink.” When Spilman fully unleashes her imagination, the result is often splendid chaos: The “belch, released from his stomach where it had been rolling and boiling all morning, now took on a life of its own.” But perhaps this novel’s most miraculous feat is the way it finds tenderness amid the cacophonies of silliness: “Alec already knew that Sansablatt was quarrelsome, impatient, and demanding. He also knew that he couldn’t live without him.” As the world within a world builds in complexity, readers will wonder if any canvas is large enough for Spilman’s imagination.
A masterfully weird adventure, likely to leave fantasy lovers in awe.Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-1482668957
Page Count: 312
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2018
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival
by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival
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by Elisa Sabatinelli ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ; translated by Christopher Turner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 2021
Beautiful, remarkable, amazing, and wonderful in every way.
Hector wants to be a deep-sea diver, just like his father and grandfather.
He has internalized all his grandfather’s tales, especially the story of the “rarest, whitest, and purist pearl in the world,” said to live on the seabed offshore near the Marina, their family business. But the greedy Amedeo Limonta has set up a competitive business that’s forced the Marina to close. When Hector turns 8, everything changes. On his very first dive, he discovers the magical Pearl and brings it home…and complications ensue. Hector heeds his memories and dreams of his grandfather and courageously makes it all right. Hector narrates his adventures in meticulously organized chapters, carefully introducing each character, providing detailed information about relationships and events, and sharing credit for his successes. At the conclusion Hector presents readers with vivid descriptions of his beloved village and its inhabitants. Sabatinelli provides Hector with a voice that soars with lilting, expressive language, losing nothing in Turner’s translation from Italian. Bruno’s intensely bright, sharply hued illustrations are a tour de force. A chart of semaphore flags and diagrams that detail the parts of a diving suit fill the opening pages, and those flags head each chapter. The sea is evoked with glorious dreamlike color and movement, and characters’ features and expressions immediately announce their nature, emotions, and quirks. All present White. Hector is wise, kind, and readers will take him to their hearts.
Beautiful, remarkable, amazing, and wonderful in every way. (Adventure. 6-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63655-006-0
Page Count: 92
Publisher: Red Comet Press
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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