Parents looking for stories that reinforce religious teachings may find much to like, but others may not be captivated by...
Two children learn about themselves and the worlds around them—both visible and invisible—while on an adventure in the magical Land of Nede.
When 12-year-old Billy moves in to Lovett Manor after his mother goes missing and a fire burns down the building in which he was hiding, he meets Sarah, the niece of Mrs. Lovett. The pair searches for a lock that matches the key that Billy has carried with him for years and finds an agreeable padlock on the tree house in the backyard. Upon entering the tree house, they fall through its rotting floorboards of the tree house and end up not on the ground below but in another layer of reality. They have stumbled upon the invisible Land of Nede. Here they meet Trick, who teaches them what to fear—namely Prince Goth and his minions. They also encounter the royal family, who teach them about the power within themselves and how they can fight evil creatures to make their own reality more like Nede, where everyone lives within the same parameters of wealth, eats for pleasure rather than out of need, and time is no barrier. Billy, as a chosen one, is especially important in the war between the people of Nede and Prince Goth. Once they return to their families, Billy and Sarah strive to keep the lessons of Nede in their hearts and minds as they deal with people already infiltrated by Prince Goth’s army. Ewinger’s writing is clear and concise, though she often resorts to clichés in her descriptions. Also, much of the dialogue consists of long explanations that may not succeed in maintaining the interest of young readers who might suspect they are being exposed to valuable lessons. Children usually learn best when new knowledge is better shrouded in authentic characters and more intricate adventure.
Parents looking for stories that reinforce religious teachings may find much to like, but others may not be captivated by the tepid prose.Pub Date: March 30, 2010
ISBN: 978-1935529699
Page Count: 190
Publisher: Interlink
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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