A knight’s tale in shining armor.
In the 14th century, young Max yearns to buck convention and be a knight.
In this fictional, European-esque kingdom, Max lives with Uncle Budrick, a comically terrible troubadour. Children in Byjovia follow in the career footsteps of their families; Max however, dreams not of songs and lutes but of becoming a knight. When Budrick is captured by the nefarious usurper King Gastley, Max finds a crew of like-minded kids and forms the Midknights. Together they fight an evil sorceress, zombies, and winged rats in their efforts to save Max’s uncle and, ultimately, the kingdom from Gastley’s evil grasp. This middle-grade graphic/prose hybrid plays with gender conventions, mixing in a feel-good theme reaffirming that everyone should be able to follow their dreams and defy pre-existing gender constructs. Plucky, gender-nonconforming Max makes a heartfelt soliloquy imploring the king to allow bothgirls and boys to pursue what they love, be it magic, knighthood, or writing. The zippy mix of prose and comics panels rockets along with quick plotting and lots of funny medieval madcap antics. Peirce’s black-and-white illustrations will be stylistically familiar to fans of his Big Nate series and should resonate with fans of Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid. Main character Max presents white, as are most of the Midknights with the exception of one dark-skinned boy; one other is chubby, and a secondary adult character uses a leg prosthesis.
A knight’s tale in shining armor. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 7-11)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-101-93108-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This sweet graphic offering will entertain and warm hearts.
Arietta discovers a new musical passion, but it may endanger her family’s business.
In a fairy-tale kingdom full of all types of anthropomorphic animals, Siamese cat Arietta works in the garden and orchard she inherited from her grandparents, selling the flowers and fruit weekly at the castle market. In order to earn extra money for seeds, Arietta has decided to sell her grandfather’s violin, but just as she is carrying it into the store, she meets Princess Cassia, a rabbit. Music lover Cassia mistakenly supposes Arietta is a musician, and her interest changes Arietta’s mind about selling the instrument. When they meet again, Princess Cassia invites Arietta to perform at her birthday party in two months’ time. Arietta can’t say no, but there is a problem: She doesn’t play. Her friend Emily, a sheep, offers to teach her, and they find she has a natural talent. Her newfound love of music causes her to neglect her garden, and soon she has no flowers to sell. Can she learn her song so as not to disappoint the princess and keep her garden (and livelihood) alive? Farina’s endearing story about doing what you love never preaches, and her pastel-hued artwork (colored by Fortson) will catch the eyes of manga lovers. The pudgy animals with giant, sparkling eyes are expressive and endearing.
This sweet graphic offering will entertain and warm hearts. (Graphic fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4549-3301-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A classic story of outsiders making friends—with a little something more.
After moving to a new city, a girl attends a wilderness camp to help her make new friends.
When astronomy-obsessed 9-year-old Vega’s dad Wes gets a new job, the family moves from Portland to Seattle. Vega is not happy about this change and doesn’t want to leave her best friend behind, worrying they will grow apart. Vega’s dad Javi thinks making new friends will help her adjust, so he signs her up for Camp Very Best Friend, which is designed to help introverted local children build new friendships. Vega is not exactly eager to go but makes a deal with Wes, agreeing to try out camp as long as he tries to make a new friend too. It quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary outdoor adventure, and Vega and her fellow campers try to figure out what is really going on. The story smoothly incorporates STEM facts with insets on the page to define and highlight terms or tools. An unexpected twist toward the end of this fast-paced adventure that reveals the truth behind the camp will surprise readers. The clean, bright artwork is enhanced by panels of varying shapes and clear, easy-to-follow speech bubbles. Race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation are not explicitly addressed; characters’ names and physical appearances indicate a broadly diverse cast starting with brown-skinned Vega and her two dads.
A classic story of outsiders making friends—with a little something more. (Graphic fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: June 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5566-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
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