Young sleuths will enjoy the easy mystery and the cheeky illustrations. More cases on the way! (Fantasy/mystery. 6-10)
How does a hippo go missing? Fabio and Gilbert are on the case!
Bright pink Fabio is the world’s greatest flamingo detective, and his favorite place for a pink lemonade, taken in the company of his giraffe sidekick, Gilbert, is the Hotel Royale on the shores of Lake Laloozee. But all is not well there. Smith, the vulture who runs the place with his sister, chef Penelope, is none too keen on her daughter’s ideas to bring in more customers: Violet wants to have a talent contest. When head contest judge Daphne, a rhino who goes by “the General,” catches cold, Fabio takes her place…and then contestant Julia the hippo vanishes—from the stage. Was it a rival contestant? A crooked judge? Or is the disappearance connected to the strange events at the Gold Cup athletic competition, where many of the contestants seemed strangely sleepy? No need to fear with dapper, superobservant Fabio investigating. With this caper, James, British author of the Adventures of Pug chapter books, kicks off a new series of easy-reading mysteries peopled with jungle animals. Fox’s cartoons are offset by an arresting design that incorporates copious applications of bright pink and electric green. Characterization is broad: Fabio is quite self-assured and Gilbert, gangly and bumbling.
Young sleuths will enjoy the easy mystery and the cheeky illustrations. More cases on the way! (Fantasy/mystery. 6-10)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0217-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
Charming.
An assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.
Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, old-fashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin.
Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942485
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Lively fun with animal friends.
Has Plum’s pep deserted him?
Several animals from the Athensville Zoo are on their way to visit an elementary school. Overconfident Itch the ningbing (an Australian marsupial), unaware that zookeeper Lizzie will be doing all the talking, looks forward to “lecturing eager young minds.” Plum, the usually chipper peacock, on the other hand, is anxious—maybe the schoolchildren won’t like him or he’ll get lost. So when they arrive at the school to find the students have been sent home due to a blizzard, Plum is relieved. The animals are left in a school gym for the night until three self-important class mice free them. Itch heads for the library to meet the learned turtle, but Plum reluctantly explores with his friends. When his anxiety peaks, they reassure him, and when the mice reject Meg, another peacock, as “borrrring” and uncool, they buoy her as well before everyone comes together to save Itch, who finds himself outside and stranded in a snowdrift. Unlike Leave It to Plum (2022), this is not a mystery, and the relationship focus shifts from Lizzie to the rodents, but the pace is brisk, and sequel seekers will be pleased to revisit familiar characters (if dismayed that Itch’s longing for knowledge leads to his downfall). In Phelan’s engaging grayscale pen-and-wash illustrations, Lizzie has short curly hair; text and art cue her as Latine.
Lively fun with animal friends. (how to draw Plum) (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-307920-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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