Lovers of animal fantasy may flock to it, but it’s not likely to win over genre skeptics.

COO

Abandoned in Queens, a white human infant was rescued and raised by a flock of pigeons; now it’s her turn to rescue them.

Occupying an old dovecote on an abandoned factory roof, Coo’s flock survives on a dumpster’s stale bagels and doughnut crumbs, nesting on shredded newspaper and plastic bags. Coo earns her keep shooing predators away. When Burr, the flock member responsible for her survival, is savaged by a hawk, Coo, who speaks only pigeon (represented as pidgin English), descends to the ground for the first time in order to seek Tully, a human woman (likely also white) who feeds pigeons, restoring injured ones to health. Tully takes Burr and gives Coo her hat, scarf, and food, but she fails to persuade the girl—thin, dirty, clothed in plastic—to come too. Starvation threatens the flock when their dumpster disappears. Again, Coo braves the human world; this time, she lets Tully bring her home, where she finds Burr—alive and healed but permanently flightless. Learning English, Burr and a human friend help Coo adapt. When forces attacking city pigeons threaten her old flock, Coo mounts a desperate rescue. Despite a compelling setting and engaging characters, jarring contradictions hobble this debut. Dumpster diving and scavenging nest materials are detailed with grim realism; bird (and human) droppings are mentioned once. Fantasy’s soft focus blurs the hard issues raised—child abandonment, the scourge and plight of urban birds—diminishing their impact.

Lovers of animal fantasy may flock to it, but it’s not likely to win over genre skeptics. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Pub Date: March 3, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-06-295597-5

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019

Did you like this book?

No Comments Yet

Certain to steal hearts.

THE ONE AND ONLY RUBY

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

Did you like this book?

Which raises the last question: of a satirical stance in lieu of a perspective.

ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, MARGARET.

The comical longings of little girls who want to be big girls—exercising to the chant of "We must—we must—increase our bust!"—and the wistful longing of Margaret, who talks comfortably to God, for a religion, come together as her anxiety to be normal, which is natural enough in sixth grade.

And if that's what we want to tell kids, this is a fresh, unclinical case in point: Mrs. Blume (Iggie's House, 1969) has an easy way with words and some choice ones when the occasion arises. But there's danger in the preoccupation with the physical signs of puberty—with growing into a Playboy centerfold, the goal here, though the one girl in the class who's on her way rues it; and with menstruating sooner rather than later —calming Margaret, her mother says she was a late one, but the happy ending is the first drop of blood: the effect is to confirm common anxieties instead of allaying them. (And countertrends notwithstanding, much is made of that first bra, that first dab of lipstick.) More promising is Margaret's pursuit of religion: to decide for herself (earlier than her 'liberal' parents intended), she goes to temple with a grandmother, to church with a friend; but neither makes any sense to her—"Twelve is very late to learn." Fortunately, after a disillusioning sectarian dispute, she resumes talking to God…to thank him for that telltale sign of womanhood.

Which raises the last question: of a satirical stance in lieu of a perspective.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1970

ISBN: 978-1-4814-1397-8

Page Count: 157

Publisher: Bradbury

Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1970

Did you like this book?

No Comments Yet
more