by Kate Coombs ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 15, 2006
A delicious princess romp down the well-worn path first paved by The Practical Princess and followed by spunky royal girls ever since. Princess Margaret—Meg—is not at all interested in being bargained away with half the kingdom. She wants to save the dragon, warn the witch and rescue the bandits, while her father wants a gaggle of princes to vanquish them all in the name of economic development. A lot of tropes get stood on their heads here: Meg is imprisoned in a tower, for example, but doesn’t take long to wriggle out of it; alert readers will catch references to everything from The Wizard of Oz to Monty Python. Meg bonds with the dragon (only a baby), gets help from the witch (who has turned a great number of princes into frogs) and, assisted by her loyal friends Cam the gardener and Dilly the housemaid, bests a supercilious prince. The bandits, by the way, are led by a woman, and her handsome brother does a pretty good impersonation of a prince. The language is witty and tart and funny, the pace is quick and, in the end, Meg gets to study not only administration and diplomacy, but magic and swordplay. (Fiction. 9-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2006
ISBN: 0-374-35546-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2006
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by Tony DiTerlizzi & illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 5, 2008
Reports of children requesting rewrites of The Reluctant Dragon are rare at best, but this new version may be pleasing to young or adult readers less attuned to the pleasures of literary period pieces. Along with modernizing the language—“Hmf! This Beowulf fellow had a severe anger management problem”—DiTerlizzi dials down the original’s violence. The red-blooded Boy is transformed into a pacifistic bunny named Kenny, St. George is just George the badger, a retired knight who owns a bookstore, and there is no actual spearing (or, for that matter, references to the annoyed knight’s “Oriental language”) in the climactic show-fight with the friendly, crème-brulée-loving dragon Grahame. In look and spirit, the author’s finely detailed drawings of animals in human dress are more in the style of Lynn Munsinger than, for instance, Ernest Shepard or Michael Hague. They do, however, nicely reflect the bright, informal tone of the text. A readable, if denatured, rendition of a faded classic. (Fantasy. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4169-3977-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2008
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by Amanda Foody ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 30, 2021
Wholesome, delightful, and jam-packed with adventure.
An orphaned boy discovers belonging and friendship.
Eleven-year-old Barclay Thorne is an apprentice to the mushroom farmer in the town of Dullshire. He’s worked diligently to prove himself since his parents perished in an attack by an otherworldly Beast seven years prior. Dullshire prides itself on rules and prickliness, and its citizens abhor all notions of Lore Keepers, those who bond with Beasts and practice Lore magic. So, when Barclay accidentally stumbles upon—and bonds with—a wolflike Beast in the forbidden Woods, the town banishes him. Left on his own, he teams up with the headstrong Viola, a local Lore Keeper with a dragonlike Beast named Mitzi. Together they seek a way to remove Barclay’s magic Beast Mark so he can one day return to Dullshire, a goal contingent upon his finishing first in the Exhibition, a dangerous competition where budding Lore Keepers prove their worth. As Barclay spends more time in the fantastical town of Sycomore, he bonds both with human allies and his own Beast. The worldbuilding calls forth the atmosphere of classic fantasy worlds while invoking fun and whimsy every step of the way. In addition to pale-skinned Barclay and brown-skinned Viola, casual, naturally integrated diversity is found throughout. Barclay’s journey reignites the wonder and discovery of childhood, culminating in a warm and sincere message about embracing who you are.
Wholesome, delightful, and jam-packed with adventure. (encyclopedia of beasts) (Fantasy. 9-13)Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-7756-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
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