With many a SZZT! SZRAK! FWOOM! and SKREE!, young Emily learns to use an energy-bolt-shooting amulet against an array of menaces to rescue her captured Mom in this graphic-novel series opener. When a scuttling “arachnopod” sucks down their widowed parent, Emily and younger sib Navin pursue through a door in the basement and into the alternate-Earth land of Alledia. Finding unexpected allies in rabbit-like Miskit, grumpy Cogsley and other robots created by their mysterious great-grandfather, the children weather attacks from huge, tentacled Rakers, a pointy eared elf prince with shark-like teeth and other adversaries to get her back—only to discover that she’s in a coma, poisoned. Off to Episode Two, and the distant city of Kanalis, for a cure. The mid-sized, squared-off panels are sometimes a little small to portray action sequences clearly, but the quickly paced plot is easy enough to follow, and Kibuishi is a dab hand at portraying freaky monsters. Fans of Jeff Smith’s Bone will happily fret with the good guys and hiss at the baddies. (Graphic fantasy. 10-12)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-439-84680-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2007
A page-turner that gives the heroic Stonekeepers plenty of chances to show their stuff and moves the main story along an...
Wraithlike attackers force a mass evacuation and a cryptic prophecy’s meaning begins to clear in this headlong continuation of Kibuishi’s deservedly popular series.
The action picks up in midflight as Navin and companions survive the destruction of their giant robot suits, then help the fleeing survivors of the city of Lucien by fighting a rear-guard action against swarms of diaphanous, cat-eyed, zombie-making Dark Scouts. Meanwhile Emily, Trellis and Vigo reluctantly join traitorous elf Max Griffin in another visit to the Voice’s realm of memories that leads to the death of a major character—along with a rescue, reunions with old friends and a lead-in to the next episode. Though the ongoing plotlines and large cast make familiarity with earlier outings a necessity, this one still features a crowd-pleasing blend of lively dialogue (“And I don’t care what the prophecies say. You’re still a slacker”), easy-to-follow, nonstop action, elves, robots and derring-do amid awesome sound effects (“D-DOOOM SHHAAAAAA,” “SZRAK!”). Most of the cleanly drawn, lushly backgrounded panels focus on faces, with occasional full-spread scenes adding dramatic visual highlights.
A page-turner that gives the heroic Stonekeepers plenty of chances to show their stuff and moves the main story along an inch or two. (Graphic fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-43315-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
Unable to pay the bills simply forecasting weather, three young people decide to sell weather itself, 50 pence the sunbeam, with predictable results. Using magic tokens, the Summer sisters Melissa and Patricia—plus little brother Arthur, whom they dub an honorary sister—actually predict the weather with perfect accuracy, but since the pounds just aren’t rolling in, the three turn to an overdue library book and dance up barrels full of rain clouds and sunny days to dispense. Disaster ensues, as first a vacation-ruining cloud gets in with the sunbeams, and then when Arthur accidentally snuffs out the sun. Supported by a cast of stock eccentrics and bemused parents, the sisters make a lively, contentious team, posing with disheveled grace in Kenyon’s small, frequent black-and- white ink drawings. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-531-30080-3
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1998
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