The cantankerous Mr. Frisk doesn't stand a chance against precocious Hailey Twitch and her impish fairy Maybelle. Both aspire to befriend their elderly neighbor for personal gain; Hailey's efforts intensify as she enlists the seasoned actor as director in their school play. While the child’s wacky attempts at friendship prove disastrous—Mr. Frisk does not appreciate his morning breakfast doused in syrup and left soaking in raw egg—her off-base efforts to apologize prove more appalling still. The dynamic between the lively youngster and her strong-willed sprite takes center stage, and Beaky’s drawings make the most of the situational humor. Hailey’s child-centered perceptions remain spot-on, combining laugh-out-loud moments with gentle insight. “But I know deep down in my heart that it is not true. Cereal is the easy way out.” This winning series depicts one youngster's balancing act between her sweet and spunky sides and provides a welcome resource for kids waiting for the next Clementine or Moxy Maxwell. (Fantasy. 6-9)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4022-2445-4
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2010
A middling treatment all around.
With the help of a beautiful princess, Theseus solves the mystery of the Labyrinth.
King Minos, ruler of the island of Crete, is “a very powerful man—but he [is] not a very nice one.” In his infamous Labyrinth, he keeps the dreaded monster known as the Minotaur, who is fed 14 young Athenians brought every nine years from across the sea. Athenian prince Theseus wants to end the carnage, so he joins the latest group. Fortunately for him, Minos' daughter Ariadne falls in love with him. She gives him a small sword to hide in his tunic and a ball of golden thread that he clutches to his heart as he sleeps. Next morning, Theseus ties the thread to the Labyrinth door, clutches the sword tightly, slays the Minotaur and makes his way out. Theseus, his friends and Ariadne sail in triumph back to Athens—the book omits his abandonment of Ariadne on the island of Naxos and his carelessness with the sails that results in his father’s suicide. The book’s raison d’être is an Escher-like spread that gives readers a chance to “navigate” the multilevel maze along with Theseus, but it does not live up to the hype on the front cover. The painterly two-page illustrations and blocks of heightened prose reinforce the majesty of the myth, though both components sometimes seem fusty.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-84780-431-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Similarly opulent renditions abound, but this is as good as any for parents wishing to introduce Frozen-mad children to the...
Between padded covers, a lightly compressed version of Andersen’s frosty classic is paired to lushly detailed illustrations enhanced by scattered flaps and movable bits.
Though she clears away much of the slushy sentiment as well as the angels, the prayers, the robber maiden’s knife and most of the talking flowers (and the Lapp woman), Woodward leaves all the major characters, plus the distinctive “girl sets out to rescue captive boy” plot, intact. Along with adding back a few angels at the beginning, Sumberac goes on to place marionettelike figures sporting oversized eyes and big, frizzy hair into settings that are positively encrusted with ice and snow crystals or with seasonal arrays of exactly rendered flora, fauna and fungi. The effect is not so much bland or cloying as theatrically sumptuous, and the illustrations are so thick with fine detail that the small die-cut flaps on occasional spreads are hard to spot even though they come with discreetly placed instructions to “lift.” More visible is the two-sided spinner and a pull tab that causes the “sprite’s” mirror to explode and on the next spread propels Kay and Gerda into view. The closing pop-up view of the two children kneeling over the “Eternity” sign in the Snow Queen’s icy hall is suitably dramatic (if on the flimsy side). The lengthy text demands either an independent reader or a very dedicated grown-up.
Similarly opulent renditions abound, but this is as good as any for parents wishing to introduce Frozen-mad children to the Disney movie’s original. (annotated list of characters) (Pop-up picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-78312-015-4
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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