Zeman, who has retold the story of Gilgamesh for children, here retells her second Sindbad (Sindbad, 1999) story. This is a spectacular beauty, set out as though woven into intricately detailed Persian carpets, each different part of the story residing in differently patterned and colored frames of varying sizes. As Sindbad safely reclines on silk cushions with a cup of tea, he recounts his adventures to the Porter. These involve being attacked onboard ship by wicked monkeys, caged by a clawed and hairy giant who plans to eat him and his fellow sailors, and escaping from a snake the size of a dragon. When he is finally rescued by those who would kill him for invading their country, he saves himself by telling his wild tale, convincing his captors that he must be more than a mere mortal. Zeman’s art is particularly effective with her monsters: her hairy blue giant with his snaggly teeth and claws and her blue and gold serpent are scarily splendid. But it is her wonderful carpets that make Sindbad’s assurance of more to come so promising. Zeman includes a double-paged map of Sindbad’s voyages and in an author’s note, she explains not only the source of the story of Sindbad, but a bit about what readers see in the pictures. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: July 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-88776-461-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after.
Drake has been selected by the king to serve as a Dragon Master, quite a change for an 8-year-old farmer boy.
The dragons are a secret, and the reason King Roland has them is a mystery, but what is clear is that the Dragon Stone has identified Drake as one of the rare few children who have a special connection with dragons and the ability to serve as a trainer. Drake’s dragon is a long brown creature with, at first, no particular talents that Drake can identify. He calls the dragon Worm. It isn’t long before Drake begins to realize he has a very strong connection with Worm and can share what seem to be his dragon’s thoughts. After one of the other Dragon Masters decides to illicitly take the dragons outside, disaster strikes. The cave they are passing through collapses, blocking the passageway, and then Worm’s special talent becomes evident. The first of a new series of early chapter books, this entry is sure to attract fans. Brief chapters, large print, lots of action, attractive illustrations in every spread, including a maplike panorama, an enviable protagonist—who wouldn’t want to be a Dragon Master?—all combine to make an entertaining read.
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-64624-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pilkey is still having entirely too much fun with this popular series, which continues to careen along with nary a whiff of...
Trying to salvage failing grades, George and Harold use their handy 3-D Hypno Ring on termagant teacher Ms. Ribble—and succeed only in creating a supervillain with a medusa-like ’do and a yen to conquer the world with wedgie power.
Using a pair of robot sidekicks and plenty of spray starch, she even overcomes Captain Underpants. Is it curtains (or rather, wedgies) for all of us? Can the redoubtable fourth graders rescue the Waistband Warrior (a.k.a. Principal Krupp) and find a way to save the day? Well, duh. Not, of course, without an epic battle waged in low-budget Flip-O-Rama, plus no fewer than three homemade comics, including an “Origin of Captain Underpants” in which we learn that his home planet of Underpantyworld was destroyed by the . . . wait for it . . . “Starch Ship Enterprize.” As in the previous four episodes, neither the pace nor the funky humor (“Diapers and toilets and poop . . . oh my!”) lets up for a moment. Pilkey is still having entirely too much fun with this popular series, which continues to careen along with nary a whiff of staleness. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-439-04999-7
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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