For readers who appreciate the goofy.
Giggle-inducing shenanigans ensue when two loyal dogs hatch a plan to save their human boy from school.
Waldo loves food, Sassy loves naps, and they both love Stewart and want to rescue him from that horrible, boring place called school, which makes Stewart smell like “a weird mixture of boredom and anxiety.” The intrepid pooches commence with an operation they code name Pepperoni. Under the titular trench coat, they disguise themselves as a human to infiltrate Bea Arthur Memorial Elementary School. Bulldog Sassy forms the bottom half, while terrier Waldo, who can speak Human, stands on her shoulders. As new student Salty Woofadogington from Liver, Ohio, the dogs discover that school is great: They get to eat sloppy Joes, play Frisbee, and sing (read: howl) in music class. They fool everyone except Stewart, who’s lucky Waldo and Sassy love school; he doesn’t even have a topic for a project that’s due tomorrow. Waldo and Sassy fly into action. They have the perfect subject: squirrels—dogs are squirrel experts, after all. The boisterous third-person narration plays with typography: All the dogs’ favorite foods (just about every possible comestible, including carrots) are in bold text, while Waldo’s dialogue as Salty is in a faux typewritten face. The tale is further enlivened by the cartoonish black-and-white illustrations, which depict Stewart with paper-white skin, but some secondary characters have dark skin, notably Salty’s teacher, Ms. Twohey, who is not entirely convinced by her new student.
For readers who appreciate the goofy. (Fantasy. 7-12)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-18951-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Certain to steal hearts.
In this follow-up to 2020’s The One and Only Bob, Ruby the elephant is still living at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary.
She’s apprehensive about her Tuskday, a rite of passage for young elephants when she’ll give a speech in front of the rest of the herd. Luckily, she can confide in her Uncle Ivan, who is next door in Gorilla World, and Uncle Bob, the dog who lives nearby with human friend Julia. Ruby was born in an unspecified part of Africa, later ending up on display in the mall, where she met Ivan, Bob, and Julia. The unexpected arrival of someone from Ruby’s past life on the savanna revives memories both warmly nostalgic and deeply traumatic. An elephant glossary and Castelao’s charming, illustrated guide to elephant body language help immerse readers in Ruby’s world. Goofy, playful, and mischievous Ruby is fully dimensional, as she has shown her bravery during the many hardships of her young life. Applegate deftly tempers themes of grief and loss with compassion and humor as Ruby finds her place in the herd. The author’s note touches on climate change, the illegal ivory trade, and conservation efforts, but the highly emotive framing of the story through the memories of a bewildered baby elephant emphasizes the impact of lines such as “ ‘in Africa,’ I say softly, ‘there were bad people,’ ” without offering readers a nuanced understanding of the broader context that drives poaching.
Certain to steal hearts. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780063080089
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
© Copyright 2023 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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