An engaging fantasy with an infectious love of national parks.
In the second installment of Cherry’s Erutuf National Park middle-grade fantasy series, siblings struggle to deter pirates from procuring a magical elixir.
As 10-year-old Reese and her 8-year-old brother, Dean, sit at the computer, beautiful bison videos appear, colors swirl, and the two are transported back to the magical Erutuf National Park, where they encounter Lamar, the lead bison, who gives them a mission to hide an important map from raiding pirates. When Olivia, Reese’s best friend, stops by their home to apologize after an argument over Reese’s difficult-to-believe tales of Erutuf (“She just didn’t believe a word of it. She said that I made it all up. Why wouldn’t my best friend believe me?”), she and her little brother, 5-year-old Jake, find the laptop and are teleported to Erutuf as well. They’re bewildered at first, but soon find their friends. On their mission, the four contend with tense friendship dynamics—as well as a talking bison and a coyote who reads minds—along the way. In this rich fantasy novel, the author exhibits a love for national parks and creates engaging and realistic child characters: one who wants to go home, one who needs naps, one who is scholarly, and one who takes on the role of the leader. Their conflicts are authentic and sure to engage her young readership. Although the blend of national park adventure and fantasy elements is intriguing, there are moments when the children present too perfectly, and others when the reliance on magic detracts from the children’s agency and ability to take active roles—it would be gratifying to see the kids generate more creative solutions for fighting the pirates, rather than being saved by magic in most circumstances. Despite this, the age-appropriate narrative effectively balances fantasy, fun, intrigue, and appreciation of nature.
An engaging fantasy with an infectious love of national parks.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9798987923122
Page Count: -
Publisher: Grand Sunshine Press
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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
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