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ARTHUR'S FIRST SLEEPOVER

Name: ARTHUR'S FIRST SLEEPOVER
Author: Marc Brown
ISBN: 0-316-11445-6

by Marc Brown & illustrated by Marc Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1994

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Arthur's first sleepover is everything it should be: He and his two best friends camp out in the backyard, eat pizza, trade baseball cards, and stay up until all hours. The camp-out also gets an added dose of fun from pranks played on the campers by Arthur's sister, D.W., and the boys' reciprocation. It seems there have been alien sightings in the area and, as much as Arthur protests that he doesn't believe in UFOs, he runs as fast as anyone when he sees flashing lights outside the tent. The culprit is D.W. and her flashlight. Arthur and his friends, in turn, create a frightening green creature out of cardboard to hold up outside of D.W.'s window. She sees it and screams loud enough to wake the house. When Arthur's parents go to check on the boys, they are all sleeping sweetly. Or so the parents think. Yet another diverting adventure from veteran Arthurian Brown (D.W. Rides Again, 1993, etc.). (Fiction. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-316-11445-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1994

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
WHY DID THE MONSTER CROSS THE ROAD?
by R.L. Stine ; illustrated by Marc Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
by Marc Brown ; illustrated by Marc Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERYONE COUNTS
by Judy Sierra ; illustrated by Marc Brown

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THE LOST STONE

From the The Kingdom of Wrenly series , Vol. 1

by Jordan Quinn ; illustrated by Robert McPhillips ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

A gentle adventure that sets the stage for future quests.

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A lonely prince gains a friend for a quest to find a missing jewel.

Prince Lucas of Wrenly has everything a boy could possibly want—except a friend. His father has forbidden him to play with the village children for reasons of propriety. Adventure-seeking Lucas acquires peasant clothes to masquerade as a commoner and make friends, but he is caught out. His mother, the queen, persuades the king to allow him one friend: Clara, the daughter of her personal dressmaker. When the queen’s prized emerald pendant goes missing, Lucas and Clara set off to find it. They follow the jewel as it changes hands, interviewing each temporary owner. Their adventure cleverly introduces the series’ world and peoples, taking the children to the fairy island of Primlox, the trolls’ home of Burth, the wizard island of Hobsgrove and finally Mermaid’s Cove. By befriending the mermaids, Lucas and Clara finally recover the jewel. In thanks, the king gives Clara a horse of her own so that she may ride with Lucas on their future adventures. The third-person narration is generally unobtrusive, allowing the characters to take center stage. The charming, medieval-flavored illustrations set the fairy-tale scene and take up enough page space that new and reluctant readers won’t be overwhelmed by text.

A gentle adventure that sets the stage for future quests. (Fantasy. 5-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-4424-9691-0

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

- BOOK REVIEW
NIGHT HUNT
by Jordan Quinn ; illustrated by Glass House Graphics

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PINK AND SAY

by Patricia Polacco & illustrated by Patricia Polacco ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 1994

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A white youth from Ohio, Sheldon Russell Curtis (Say), and a black youth from Georgia, Pinkus Aylee (Pink), meet as young soldiers with the Union army. Pink finds Say wounded in the leg after a battle and brings him home with him. Pink's mother, Moe Moe Bay, cares for the boys while Say recuperates, feeding and comforting them and banishing the war for a time. Whereas Pink is eager to go back and fight against "the sickness" that is slavery, Say is afraid to return to his unit. But when he sees Moe Moe Bay die at the hands of marauders, he understands the need to return. Pink and Say are captured by Confederate soldiers and brought to the notorious Andersonville prison camp. Say is released months later, ill and undernourished, but Pink is never released, and Polacco reports that he was hanged that very first day because he was black. Polacco (Babushka Baba Yaga, 1993, etc; My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, above) tells this story, which was passed down for generations in her family (Say was her great-great-grandfather), carefully and without melodrama so that it speaks for itself. The stunning illustrations — reminiscent of the German expressionist Egon Shiele in their use of color and form — are completely heartbreaking. A spectacular achievement. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4- 8)