A grand and stirring tale for readers not quite ready for Tony Lee and Sam Hart’s Pirate Queen (2019).
A rousing tribute to Granuaile O’Malley, 16th-century freebooter from County Mayo.
As this import has received no special treatment for an international audience, there is no pronunciation guide for names and locales, but the Irish author and illustrator offer reasons aplenty for readers this side of the pond to tip figurative hats to a fierce and fearless heroine. She started off by cutting her hair short (“Granuaile” means “Bald Gráinne”) to become a sailor, then went on to exploits that included fighting off Algerian pirates (newborn babe in one arm), leading pirate raids of her own, and bargaining face to face (in Latin, their only shared language) with Elizabeth I for the release of two sons from prison. Smiling confidently and topped by a flaming mop of red hair, O’Malley definitely cuts a swashbuckling figure in the simple, flat illustrations—cutlass frequently to hand whether leaping into (blood-free) battle or just posing heroically. Though the Burkes give both the political waters in which she sailed and the violence inherent in her line of work little notice, they do identify her two husbands and her children as well as select rivals or others prominent in her life. Most of the human figures are white though some, particularly in fight scenes but also in family groupings, display a range of skin tones.
A grand and stirring tale for readers not quite ready for Tony Lee and Sam Hart’s Pirate Queen (2019). (timeline, additional facts) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7171-8350-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gill Books/Dufour Editions
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Multiple taps transform a giggling block of wood in Geppetto’s workshop into a skinny, loose jointed puppet that suddenly...
Unusually brisk special effects animate this relatively less satiric but equally amusing adaptation of the classic tale.
Multiple taps transform a giggling block of wood in Geppetto’s workshop into a skinny, loose jointed puppet that suddenly delivers a Bronx cheer and then whirls away on a long series of misadventures. These culminate in a final change into a flesh-and-blood boy with help from a fingertip “paintbrush.” Quick and responsive touch- or tilt-activated features range from controllable marionettes, Pinocchio’s tattletale nose and Fire-Eater’s explosive sneeze to a movable candle that illuminates both Geppetto in the fish’s dark belly and the accompanying block of text. Even the thumbnail page images of the index (which opens any time with a shake of the tablet) tumble about, somehow without falling out of order. Though transitions are almost nonexistent in the episodic plot, the text is both substantial enough to have a definite presence and artfully placed in and around Conversi’s brightly colored settings and toylike figures. Text is available in English or Italian with a clear, understated optional audio narration backed by unobtrusive music. A link on the credits page leads to downloadable coloring sheets on the producer’s website.Pub Date: March 17, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Elastico srl
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1965) upgrades to The Mice and the Rolls-Royce.
In Windsor Castle there sits a “dollhouse like no other,” replete with working plumbing, electricity, and even a full library of real, tiny books. Called Queen Mary’s Dollhouse, it also plays host to the Whiskers family, a clan of mice that has maintained the house for generations. Henry Whiskers and his cousin Jeremy get up to the usual high jinks young mice get up to, but when Henry’s little sister Isabel goes missing at the same time that the humans decide to clean the house up, the usually bookish big brother goes on the adventure of his life. Now Henry is driving cars, avoiding cats, escaping rats, and all before the upcoming mouse Masquerade. Like an extended version of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Two Bad Mice (1904), Priebe keeps this short chapter book constantly moving, with Duncan’s peppy art a cute capper. Oddly, the dollhouse itself plays only the smallest of roles in this story, and no factual information on the real Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House is included at the tale’s end (an opportunity lost).
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales. (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6575-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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