There’s room for improvement in Augusta’s latest caper, but these dogs have so much fun readers will still howl for more.
A plunderin’, pillagin’ pup takes down some pretty paw-some pirates.
Having already proved herself to be saucy, bold, and selfless in her previous adventure (Bad Pirate, 2015), sea pup Augusta Garrick now faces an even bigger challenge. Her father, Capt. Barnacle Garrick, has discovered his booty has been plundered by a pack of mangy sea cats. To recover the treasure undetected, the captain advises everyone to be “rotten,” “sneaky,” and “brainy.” Trouble is, Augusta has a penchant for “fancies,” and her accessorizing does not sit well with her pa. A little dab of vanilla proves her undoing, and she’s thrown in the brig to avoid botching a raid with her scent. Fortunately, brains, sneakiness, and the rotten smell of fanciness save her crewmates from those tricky kitties. Though this sequel lacks the coherency of its predecessor (how Augusta gets the key to spring her shipmates and herself from the brig is left unclear), once again it’s a jolly relief to see a female pirate with so much oomph and initiative. As ever, Griffiths’ art proves inventive, whether he’s rendering a seagoing whippet or a beard on the feline Capt. Fishmonger that Blackbeard himself would envy.
There’s room for improvement in Augusta’s latest caper, but these dogs have so much fun readers will still howl for more. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-927485-80-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Pajama Press
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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