A clever and thoroughly entertaining story—with a moral, to boot.
A Brooklyn crime family of sea gulls threatens the territory of a “wiseguy” sea gull in New Jersey in Chiarella’s debut children’s book.
A great black-backed gull named Hurricane earned his name by surviving a storm. Humans took him in to tend his broken wing, and the metal band that they affixed to his leg is a constant reminder to other birds of Hurricane’s resilience. He’s the boss of the Tommies, an avian gang based in Toms River, New Jersey. Over in New York are the Bennies, led by Bruno da Boss, a large herring gull. Bruno decides that Brooklyn is too hot and stinky, so he picks the Jersey shore as an ideal spot to cool off; he also plans to settle “some stuff” with his adversary, Hurricane. A fight quickly breaks out between the two families that’s temporarily halted by the sight of Tracy and Dyna, a couple of vacationing South Philly sea gulls. A war, however, is imminent, as Bruno wants the beach—and when some of his crew get sick, he blames Hurricane. But it soon becomes clear that something else is making the gulls sick, and Hurricane figures that he can get assistance from the humans who previously helped him. Chiarella’s story, gang war notwithstanding, is lighthearted and educational. The gulls, for example, set aside their differences for the greater good, and younger readers may be inspired to research the diverse types of birds herein. Nevertheless, the dialogue is the real star: Chiarella phoneticizes the characters’ Jersey and Brooklyn lilts, as in “yooze guys” or “Jeetjet,” the latter of which requires a translation (“did ya eat yet?”). The skirmishes between the crews are never violent, and the real dangers are outside forces, from aggressive hawks to whatever’s making the gulls ill. Muccio’s cartoonish illustrations fill entire pages with details, including anthropomorphic character traits, such as Hurricane’s impressive pompadour. Sadly, it’s all over too soon, but a planned sequel with these winged characters seems feasible.
A clever and thoroughly entertaining story—with a moral, to boot.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-5372-1644-7
Page Count: 98
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In an imaginative wordless picture book, Wiesner (illustrator of Kite Flyer, 1986) tours a dream world suggested by the books and objects in a boy's room. A series of transitions—linked by a map in the book that the boy was reading as he fell asleep—wafts him, pajama-clad, from an aerial view of hedge-bordered fields to a chessboard with chess pieces, some changing into their realistic counterparts (plus a couple of eerie roundheaded figures based on pawns that reappear throughout); next appear a castle; a mysterious wood in which lurks a huge, whimsical dragon; the interior of a neoclassical palace; and a series of fantastic landscapes that eventually transport the boy back to his own bed. Most interesting here are the visual links Wiesner uses in his journey's evolution; it's fun to trace the many details from page to page. There's a bow to Van Allsburg, and another to Sendak's In the Night Kitchen, but Wiesner's broad double-spreads of a dream world—whose muted colors suggest a silent space outside of time—have their own charm. Intriguing.
Pub Date: April 20, 1988
ISBN: 978-0-06-156741-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1988
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