A purrfectly fresh and fun take on a beloved classic: bewitching, mysterious, and thoroughly engrossing.
LaReau retells Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca for young audiences with a feline protagonist.
When small, skittish Kitty is adopted by Max Winters, the formerly feral tabby kitten loves the pale, rosy-cheeked boy immediately and hopes that moving into the house he shares with his astrology enthusiast mother at Five Manderley Lane will be a fresh, safe start—even if Kitty’s neighbor at the shelter, Bunny Van Hopper, exclaims that she’ll regret it. In her new home, Kitty meets fellow pets Duchess, Cookie, and Fred—a parrot, hamster, and turtle, respectively. But she’s also struck with the overwhelming lingering presence—and scent—of Max’s former cat, Licorice. It seems that everyone (Duchess especially) continually extols the virtues of Licorice, and Kitty feels like she can’t compare and will disappoint Max. Fearful of being sent back to the shelter, Kitty tries to act more like Licorice, but it just makes matters worse. This exquisite homage features eerie gothic trappings and psychological manipulation just like the original, yet it succeeds entirely on its own merit: It’s kid-appropriate without skimping on the spookiness. The unsettling tone and startling plot twists make the book hard to put down. Distinct animal characters, relatable themes of self-esteem and found family, and Murphy’s appealing, shade-filled drawings peppered throughout add to the appeal.
A purrfectly fresh and fun take on a beloved classic: bewitching, mysterious, and thoroughly engrossing. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9781546185949
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: today
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
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
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.
