by Joann Sfar & illustrated by Joann Sfar and translated by Alexis Siegel and Edward Gauvin ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2008
Three episodes—two of which were originally published in English separately in 2003—feature the diminutive, grey-skinned bloodsucker, his human friend Michael and a haunted-houseful of spectacularly lurid ghouls and creepies. In the first, lonely Little Vampire meets Michael after going to his school at night, sitting at his desk and doing his homework. In the second Michael receives kung fu lessons from an eldritch instructor in hopes of ridding himself of a bully. The third, titled “The Canine Defenders Club,” has the two buddies, with help from Little Vampire’s gruff, scarlet pooch Phantomato, breaking into a cosmetics-testing laboratory to rescue three captive dogs. All three tales progress in small, brightly colored panels packed with brisk action, sight gags and dialogue in miniscule type. Fans of Emmanuel Guibert’s Sardine in Outer Space series, which is illustrated by Sfar, will find his solo outings just as appealingly off-the-wall. Libraries that bought the first two chapters (which were issued by a different publisher) will need this as a value-added replacement. (Graphic novel. 9-11)
Pub Date: May 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59643-233-8
Page Count: 92
Publisher: First Second/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2008
Share your opinion of this book
More by Joann Sfar
BOOK REVIEW
adapted by Joann Sfar & illustrated by Joann Sfar & translated by Sarah Ardizzone
BOOK REVIEW
by Emmanuel Guibert & illustrated by Joann Sfar & translated by Elisabeth Brizzi & Alexis Siegel
BOOK REVIEW
by Emmanuel Guibert & illustrated by Joann Sfar
by Vashti Hardy ; illustrated by George Ermos ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2020
A kid adventurer with a disability makes this steampunk offering stand out.
Orphaned twins, an adventurer dad lost to an ice monster, and an airship race around the world.
In Lontown, 12-year-old twins Arthur and Maudie learn that their explorer father has gone missing on his quest to reach South Polaris, the crew of his sky-ship apparently eaten by monsters. As he’s accused of sabotage, their father’s property is forfeit. The disgraced twins are sent off to live in a garret in a scene straight out of an Edwardian novel à la A Little Princess. Maudie has the consolation of her engineering skills, but all Arthur wants is to be an adventurer like his father. A chance to join Harriet Culpepper’s journey to South Polaris might offer excitement and let him clear his father’s name—if only he can avoid getting eaten by intelligent ice monsters. Though some steampunk set dressing is appropriately over-the-top (such as a flying house, thinly depicted but charming), adaptive tools for Arthur’s disability are wonderfully realistic. His iron arm is a standard, sometimes painful passive prosthesis. The crew adapts the airship galley for Arthur’s needs, even creating a spiked chopping board. Off the ship, Arthur and Maudie meet people and animals in vignettes that are appealingly rendered but slight. Harriet teaches the white twins respect for the cultures they encounter on these travels, though they are never more than observers of non-Lontowners’ different ways.
A kid adventurer with a disability makes this steampunk offering stand out. (Steampunk. 9-11)Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-324-00564-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Vashti Hardy ; illustrated by George Ermos
More by Vashti Hardy
BOOK REVIEW
by Vashti Hardy ; illustrated by George Ermos
by Dan Gutman ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2021
Funny, scary in the right moments, and offering plenty of historical facts.
Catfished…by a ghost!
Harry Mancini, an 11-year-old White boy, was born and lives in Harry Houdini’s house in New York City. It’s no surprise, then, that he’s obsessed with Houdini and his escapology. Harry and his best friend, Zeke, are goofing around in some particularly stupid ways (“Because we’re idiots,” Zeke explains later) when Harry hits his head. In the aftermath of a weeklong coma, Harry finds a mysterious gift: an ancient flip phone that has no normal phone service but receives all-caps text messages from someone who identifies himself as “HOUDINI.” Harry is wary of this unseen stranger, like any intelligently skeptical 21st-century kid, but he’s eventually convinced: His phone friend is the real deal. So when Houdini asks Harry to try one of his greatest tricks, Harry agrees. Harry—so full of facts about Houdini that he litters his storytelling with infodumps, making him an enthusiastic tour guide to Houdini’s life—is easily tricked by his supportive-seeming hero. Harry, Zeke, and Houdini are all just the right amount of snarky, and while Harry’s terrifying adventure has an occasionally inconsistent voice, the humor and tension make this an appealing page-turner. Archival photographs of Harry Houdini make the ghostly visitation feel closer. Zeke is Black, and Harry Houdini, as he was in life, is a White Jewish immigrant.
Funny, scary in the right moments, and offering plenty of historical facts. (historical note, bibliography) (Supernatural adventure. 9-11)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4515-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Share your opinion of this book
More by Dan Gutman
BOOK REVIEW
by Dan Gutman ; illustrated by Allison Steinfeld
BOOK REVIEW
by Dan Gutman ; illustrated by Allison Steinfeld
BOOK REVIEW
by Dan Gutman ; illustrated by Jim Paillot
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.