A fantastic second addition to an already-acclaimed series.
The Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County are back in a new multiverse adventure.
In the series opener, readers were introduced to the detective team of cousins Sheed and Otto Alston when they went toe-to-toe with the time-stopping Mr. Flux. A mirror “borrowed” from the Rorrim Mirror Emporium in downtown Fry to resolve that showdown sets off the journey of this sequel, as the boys are magically reminded by Missus Nedraw that the Emporium is no ordinary house of mirrors. Yes, behind the mirrors lie whole new worlds where Missus Nedraw and the menacing-looking Judge reign over the Multiverse Justice System. The word is that they need Otto and Sheed to recapture an extraordinarily dangerous criminal who has escaped, but something seems not quite right about this setup—something more insidious than the reality-bending rules of this dimension they’ve entered, including a gang of spiders who call themselves the ArachnoBRObia. Even more complicated, Otto worries that Sheed is in need of a checkup but knows he will refuse to self-advocate for a doctor’s visit. Otto can’t just let his detective partner lapse into what might be an even more serious health condition. This heartwarming adventure centers on the caring relationship between two Black boys while driving home a lesson about what justice might truly be.
A fantastic second addition to an already-acclaimed series. (Science fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-12941-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey.
Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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