Skip this one.
A father who’s a spy tries to give it all up to spend time with his daughter.
This Finnish import is a mix of a spy thriller and a family drama, and if that sounds rather like the film Mr. and Mrs. Smith, it isn’t. At all. From the start, the man’s two roles as father and spy intermix: While dangling from a helicopter he takes a call from his daughter, who’s wheedling for a hamster. After he listens to his daughter’s wish to have more time with her parents and resigns, the adventure they have together is fueled more by some nefarious operatives who are chasing them than by any interests the duo share. Indeed, mothers everywhere may shiver at the danger this dad exposes his daughter to, although all of it may go over readers’ heads. Only careful observation of the retro-colored, digital-looking illustrations (and knowledge of spy tropes) reveals all that is going on, as the dad is careful to keep Olivia in the dark. Problematically, this may mean that readers won’t get the tale at all, the pair seemingly changing their minds at random, or worse, they will get only the violent bits: The car blows up after lunch. And a couple of references to not working, not having money to spend, and being poor are likely to fall flat. All the characters present white; the dad perpetually wears either a Lone Ranger mask or glasses that look exactly like one.
Skip this one. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: April 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62371-993-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crocodile/Interlink
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
Action, clever humor, delightful illustrations and expectation-defying secret identities—when does the next one come out?
Perfect Princess Magnolia has a secret—her alter ego is the Princess in Black, a superhero figure who protects the kingdom!
When nosy Duchess Wigtower unexpectedly drops by Princess Magnolia’s castle, Magnolia must protect her secret identity from the duchess’s prying. But then Magnolia’s monster alarm, a glitter-stone ring, goes off. She must save the day, leaving the duchess unattended in her castle. After a costume change, the Princess in Black joins her steed, Blacky (public identity: Frimplepants the unicorn), to protect Duff the goat boy and his goats from a shaggy, blue, goat-eating monster. When the monster refuses to see reason, Magnolia fights him, using special moves like the “Sparkle Slam” and the “Twinkle Twinkle Little Smash.” The rounded, cartoony illustrations featuring chubby characters keep the fight sequence soft and comical. Watching the fight, Duff notices suspicious similarities between the Princess in Black and Magnolia—quickly dismissed as “a silly idea”—much like the duchess’s dismissal of some discovered black stockings as being simply dirty, as “princesses don’t wear black.” The gently ironic text will amuse readers (including adults reading the book aloud). The large print and illustrations expand the book to a longish-yet-manageable length, giving newly independent readers a sense of accomplishment. The ending hints at another hero, the Goat Avenger.
Action, clever humor, delightful illustrations and expectation-defying secret identities—when does the next one come out? (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6510-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
Tender and affirming.
A father and child bond while camping.
The two awaken in their tent on a chilly morning in the woods. The young narrator is cold, but Daddy says they’ll warm up as they start walking. As the pair hike past trees and over rocks, then bait their hooks and cast their lines, it becomes apparent that Daddy is retracing the path he and his late father, Pop-Pop, once took, re-creating the same moments of wonder and awe. The child ponders: “Are we looking under the same rocks? Weaving through the same trails? Resting beneath the same magnolia tree as we sit still, listen, and breathe?” The narrator becomes overwhelmed with emotion over the loss of Pop-Pop, but Daddy says that he feels the same way and lets the protagonist know that showing emotion is OK—a valuable lesson for young readers coping with grief. This potent, poetic story is complemented by Fisher’s art, which blends soft colors and is full of movement and captures the characters’ expressions. Fisher has a delicate touch, conveying the small pleasures of the great outdoors as well as the importance of giving oneself permission to sit with sadness. Daddy and the child are brown-skinned, while Pop-Pop, seen in flashback, is lighter-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Tender and affirming. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316055864
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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