With a cameo from Batman himself, this origin story presents an entertaining new team of supers.
Setting their debut superhero graphic-novel series for kids in the suburbs of East Gotham, Quinn, Lunetta, and Gil introduce readers to an unlikely DC Comics duo.
Sloane MacBrute and Piper Pájaro are both 13 but are otherwise very different from each other. Piper is Latinx, the brown-skinned daughter of scientists working in Antarctica; she lives with Abuela and Uncle John, a police officer. She also has superstrength and can lift a small car. Sloane is white and happens to be the granddaughter of the Bear, the notorious goon; she is also a robotics genius. When her recently laid-off mother’s health declines, Bear dispatches Sloane, as her supervillain alter ego, Gray, to steal a device from a research facility. Piper, who moonlights as the superhero Hummingbird, learns about a threat to the device her parents created, so she shows up to protect it. The late-night mission goes awry, and the device somehow causes both girls to switch bodies, forcing them to work together to switch them back and thwart the Bear. Co-authors Lunetta and Quinn’s quick dialogue, narration, and pacing are successful, and from Abuela, readers hear Spanish peppered throughout the story. Gil’s illustrations are dynamic, filling spreads with noir-toned purple and dark-blue hues. Panels cut from aerial views and zoom into the fast-paced action, building momentum.
With a cameo from Batman himself, this origin story presents an entertaining new team of supers. (Graphic adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4012-9325-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
Kindness is key in this droll and charming tale.
Two sisters’ fates are changed when one encounters a unique creature in the forest.
Living together in a drafty house, pale-skinned siblings Beatrice and Magnolia are opposites in many ways. Short, wide Beatrice is happy and curious, whereas lanky Magnolia is cranky and tyrannical. One day Beatrice ventures into the nearby forest and meets Bog Myrtle, a giant, gray-skinned spider woman who’s deeply committed to protecting the forest and is known for turning people into flies and eating them. She gives Beatrice some of her magic silk. With the help of the spiders that live in their home, Beatrice turns the silk into a soft, warm sweater for Magnolia. Greedy Magnolia sees an opportunity to make money by creating and selling more sweaters; she exploits Beatrice and the house spiders until her cruelty is no longer tolerated. With its short text and many simple, expressive, and attractive full-page illustrations, this book will entice young readers. Older kids, however, will likely have a better understanding of its sometimes challenging vocabulary and themes of sustainability and labor rights. These thought-provoking topics are smartly woven in as the story maintains a sharp humor and folktale feel throughout. The sisters epitomize the classic folktale binary of good and evil, and it’s wonderfully satisfying when they each get what they deserve at the end, all infused with a slightly twisted sense of humor.
Kindness is key in this droll and charming tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781773218922
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A beautiful, realistic, and important story focusing on family and sibling bonds.
When their parents take away their phones, twins are forced to figure out how to be friends.
Pakistani American tweens Zara and Zeeshan Aziz are traveling from New York to Key West with their parents, Amma and Abba, for the conference where their mother will become the first Muslim woman honored with a pediatrician of the year award. The kids have different interests—nature lover Zara is a member of an animal rescue society, and Zeesh is into space exploration and NASA videos. Told to stick together, they go kayaking and walk on the beach, where Zara finds a sick loggerhead turtle she names Sunshine. They also meet a kindly veterinarian who’s checking on the turtle. The siblings later work together to help Sunshine return to the sea. While exploring without technology, they overcome their differences, learn more about one another’s interests, and start appreciating and supporting each other. Faruqi seamlessly weaves in flashbacks showing the history of their relationship as well as their parents’ memories and experiences of immigration and Islamophobia. Powerful scenes reveal Zara’s choice to start wearing hijab in sixth grade and how she was treated at school and Zeesh’s racist treatment by classmates that led to his quitting the after-school space club. Facts about animals and outer space appear in text boxes. Khan’s rich, detailed, watercolorlike illustrations enhance the story, capturing the siblings’ passions, emotions, and love for one another.
A beautiful, realistic, and important story focusing on family and sibling bonds. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781250793812
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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