Graduates of sparkly chapter-book series will be right at home and looking for the next installment posthaste.
Clover must take care of the Magical Animal Adoption Agency when Mr. Jams leaves her alone again.
After volunteering at the agency in the magical wood near her decidedly mundane town, Clover was able to outsmart a witch and save a kitten, and it wasn’t just luck (Clover’s Luck, 2015). Now Mr. Jams has brought in a giant, mysterious egg. No one knows what is in the egg, but Clover feels drawn to it. When Mr. Jams goes in search of a magical egg expert, Clover’s left in charge of the egg, along with fairy horses, unicorns with allergies, and the customers (like ghosts and leprechauns) coming in search of magical animals to adopt. A kindle of magical kittens and some giants who aren’t sure Clover is up to the job of running the agency complicate matters…and then the egg hatches. When the still-unknown inhabitant of the egg is nowhere to be found, Clover is suddenly totally unsure that a nonmagical, quite ordinary girl is up to the tasks at hand. George’s second magical adventure is as sweet and innocuous as the first. Clover doubts herself and accidents happen, but all threats are of the nonthreatening variety, and all ends well.
Graduates of sparkly chapter-book series will be right at home and looking for the next installment posthaste. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4231-8383-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale.
After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after.
Drake has been selected by the king to serve as a Dragon Master, quite a change for an 8-year-old farmer boy.
The dragons are a secret, and the reason King Roland has them is a mystery, but what is clear is that the Dragon Stone has identified Drake as one of the rare few children who have a special connection with dragons and the ability to serve as a trainer. Drake’s dragon is a long brown creature with, at first, no particular talents that Drake can identify. He calls the dragon Worm. It isn’t long before Drake begins to realize he has a very strong connection with Worm and can share what seem to be his dragon’s thoughts. After one of the other Dragon Masters decides to illicitly take the dragons outside, disaster strikes. The cave they are passing through collapses, blocking the passageway, and then Worm’s special talent becomes evident. The first of a new series of early chapter books, this entry is sure to attract fans. Brief chapters, large print, lots of action, attractive illustrations in every spread, including a maplike panorama, an enviable protagonist—who wouldn’t want to be a Dragon Master?—all combine to make an entertaining read.
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-64624-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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