An outstanding new chapter book with the cozy feel of a classic.
Hedgehog embarks on an unexpected adventure to rescue her friend Mutty.
Hedgehog and Mutty, two dear friends, “[spend] all their days together. Playing. Imagining. Dreaming.” That is, until the Terrible Storm whisks Mutty (who appears to be a stuffed dog) away from the tiny, midriver island they both live on. Aware that crying won’t solve anything, Hedgehog decides to set out on a rescue mission to bring her friend back. As Hedgehog searches for her lost friend, she encounters various characters such as Mole, who greets everyone she meets in a different language (French, German, Spanish, Arabic, and Korean), and Owl, who sprinkles lofty vocabulary (and definitions) into conversations. The remainder of the cast includes Hen and her Chicks, dapper Beaver, and a brown-skinned human girl named Annika Mae Flores. All together, they distinguish themselves by supporting Hedgehog in her friend’s rescue. Each personality bursts forth in Annika’s narration as the group assembles, acknowledges that their differences become their strengths, and forms a firm and committed community unit. Castillo’s endearing illustrations remind readers that friendships can be found in the most unexpected of places while their full-color softness balances Hedgehog’s action-packed adventures. Readers will appreciate the map shown in the beginning endpapers as they go back and trace Hedgehog’s journey. Challenging readers without overwhelming them, picture-book creator Castillo has achieved a gentle and triumphant pivot into chapter books.
An outstanding new chapter book with the cozy feel of a classic. (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6671-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
PROFILES
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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