An excellent monster largely wasted by an uninspired storyline.
Two children discover the truth in a pair of Loch Ness legends.
Spinning an original story around local folklore, Don sends two cousins, Kenneth and Ishbel, rowing across the loch from their impoverished granny’s cottage to the ruins of Urquhart Castle—where, it is said, behind two identical hidden doors lie treasure or poison. No sooner do they come ashore below the ruins than a brass key washes up (sharp-eyed viewers will spot a finny tail poking up through the waves), and doors appear. The children make their choice and it’s the wrong one…but then they get to make another and find a trove of golden eggs. On the row back they are intercepted by a huge monster that smashes their boat, reclaims the eggs, and finally carries the children to safety. Along with atmospheric views of the deep loch’s swirling waters and long, low hills beneath cloudy skies, Ilincic crafts a particularly magnificent monster, green, scaly, and dragonesque. But the sketchy, patched-together narrative doesn’t measure up to the illustrations, as the author gives her characters stilted dialogue (“If we found the treasure under the castle, we could buy food”) and contrived mulligans, leaves the backstories of both the eggs and the children untold, and doesn’t let the glittering tale of the encounter be the young folks’ reward. Kenneth and Ishbel are both white.
An excellent monster largely wasted by an uninspired storyline. (source note) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-78250-485-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kelpies
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Returning fans will be happy to see their friends, but this outing's unlikely to win them new ones.
In the second installment of the Binder of Doom series, readers will reconnect with Alexander Bopp, who leads the Super Secret Monster Patrol, a group of mutant children who protect the citizens of their beloved town of Stermont.
His friends Nikki and Rip rejoin him to add new monsters and adventures to their ever growing binder of monsters. As in series opener Brute-Cake (2019), Alexander and his friends attend the local library’s summer program, this time for “maker-camp.” They are assigned a Maker Challenge, in which each camper is to “make a machine that performs a helpful task”; meanwhile, mechanical equipment is being stolen all over Stermont. Unfortunately, the pacing and focus of the book hop all over the place. The titular boa constructor (a two-headed maker-minded snake and the culprit behind the thefts) is but one of many monsters introduced here, appearing more than two-thirds of the way through the story—just after the Machine Share-Time concludes the maker-camp plotline. (Rip’s “most dangerous” invention does come in handy at the climax.) The grayscale illustrations add visuals that will keep early readers engaged despite the erratic storyline; they depict Alexander with dark skin and puffy hair and Nikki and Rip with light skin. Monster trading cards are interleaved with the story.
Returning fans will be happy to see their friends, but this outing's unlikely to win them new ones. (Paranormal adventure. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-31469-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
Chapter-book readers should latch onto it. (Fantasy. 6-8)
The Corman Towers apartment building has a creepy outside; wait till Flo sees the inside!
Fourth-grader-to-be Florence (but don’t call her that) has moved around each year since her father died; her mom has to go where the work is. This year’s building, Corman Towers, is in the city and doesn’t look promising. The apartment has cracked windows and stains, and there’s a kid in his underwear running through the hallway. Weird. Ferdinand—“Furry”—is no less weird when Flo actually meets him, but at least he puts some shorts on. Then her groceries are attacked and her Popsicles stolen. Flo thinks some dog may have done it, but no pets are allowed. Flo goes in search of Furry, who’s doing laundry, and he shows her a crack in the basement floor that goes blue. Weird. Late that night, she catches Furry (in his underwear again) running with her Popsicles…and when she chases him to the roof, he’s turned into a werewolf! Before that can settle, they’re attacked by a giant spider. Can the new friends escape a rampaging momma spider? Troupe’s series kickoff is a slightly spooky and little-bit-goofy tale for those just starting chapter books. Gilpin’s occasional black-and-white, pen-and-ink cartoon illustrations are a nice match. Glossary, questions and prompts at the close provide some educational backbone to the entertainment.
Chapter-book readers should latch onto it. (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-62370-033-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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