by Jonny Duddle ; illustrated by Jonny Duddle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 7, 2018
Yo ho ho and a bottle of sun screen.
In her latest outing, clever young Matilda leaves Dull-on-Sea for a pirates-only theme park and joins the hunt for Mad Jack McMuddle’s long-buried treasure (The Pirates Next Door, 2012, etc.).
In illustrations that are positively awash with classic piratical gear and nautical detail, Matilda joins her friend Jim Lad and his buccaneer family, the Jolley-Rogers, aboard the Blackhole for a voyage to aptly named Scurvy Sands. Her welcome there is decidedly mixed (“My monkey can’t find any lice, / but says her hair smells very nice!”), though, until she passes the “pirate test” by gathering clues left by Mad Jack to dig up, as revealed in a climactic double gatefold, a veritable mountain of glittering loot. If the plotline and sometimes-ungainly rhymes aren’t going to shiver any timbers, all the skulls, crossbones, fancy hats and coats, eye patches, carved peg legs, sashes, unkempt hair and beards, tattoos, and snaggly teeth on display will rouse mighty cheers from pirate fans of any stripe. Duddle even adds an aerial map of the ramshackle rides and restaurants. Home Matilda sails at the end…but even though she “really couldn’t wait to be / landlubbing back in Dull-On-Sea,” further rousing sea adventures doubtless await. Matilda and the Jolley-Rogers present white; one young guest and flamboyant official greeter Cap’n Ollie Day are the only people of color in sight on the beaches and boardwalks.
Yo ho ho and a bottle of sun screen. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9293-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jonny Duddle
BOOK REVIEW
by Jonny Duddle ; illustrated by Jonny Duddle
BOOK REVIEW
by Jonny Duddle ; illustrated by Jonny Duddle
BOOK REVIEW
by C. Alexander London illustrated by Jonny Duddle
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
More by Mo Willems
BOOK REVIEW
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
BOOK REVIEW
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
BOOK REVIEW
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
by Matthew Cordell ; illustrated by Matthew Cordell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 7, 2023
A spellbinding tale that will never brown or fade with time.
Soup is always the correct solution.
Evergreen, a young squirrel who lives high in a tree in Buckthorn Forest, is afraid of most things, but top of the list is thunderstorms. When her mother, who makes magical soup, asks her to take an acorn full of soup to Granny Oak, who is ill with the flu, Evergreen is afraid that she won’t be brave enough to do it. But she knows she must—and that she must be careful not to spill a drop, as “Granny Oak will need every bit of it to get better.” Setting off, the scared squirrel encounters a menagerie of adventures and forest creatures in her journey. It’s a wild, imaginative read and one that twists and turns like a forest path, with unexpected surprises along the way. Cordell is a masterful storyteller, and readers will love following Evergreen’s journey as she grows into a more confident squirrel. The artwork is the real star of the show, however; there’s a hint of Sendak in the characters’ humorous expressions and in the timeless pen-and-watercolor backgrounds that cry out to be examined in detail. Educators and caregivers will love reading this story aloud in installments, and readers will adore seeing what Evergreen encounters in her travels. A hint of future stories will tantalize readers, who will close the book eager for a new volume to devour.
A spellbinding tale that will never brown or fade with time. (Early chapter book. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-31717-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
Share your opinion of this book
More by Matthew Cordell
BOOK REVIEW
by Matthew Cordell ; illustrated by Matthew Cordell
BOOK REVIEW
by Sara Pennypacker ; illustrated by Matthew Cordell
BOOK REVIEW
by Philip C. Stead ; illustrated by Matthew Cordell
© 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.