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PIRATE OF THE MIST

Name: PIRATE OF THE MIST
Author: Marco Innocenti

From the Captain Fox series , Vol. 1

by Marco Innocenti illustrated by Simone Frasca developed by Giunti Editore ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 29, 2011

Still, fine fare for readers who prefer their nautical comedy broad and don’t mind a few typos along the way.

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Despite some extraneous special features and an English translation that is, at best, unvarnished this pirate yarn nonetheless scores points for sheer silly fun.

Rescued from a raft just before he’s eaten by sharks, city-bred Ricky Rat is inducted by Captain Fulgencio Libertador Fox into the hard-drinking, all-animal pirate crew of a ship called a “Chameleon Vessel” because it changes color (in the story at least, if not in the cartoon art) along with the sea. The pirates’ primary adventure is to fetch “bootlegger treasure” from the belly of a white whale. Along the way, they survive repeated ambushes by Admiral Sibilla Snake—a scaly vision clad in haute couture straight out of Vogue—and a layover to visit their hardnosed wives (“You have a female mouse in every port, and maybe even a duck and a hen! Eh?” screams one, clobbering her mate with a heavy cane). Along with two side games and two extra screens that allow users to create new episodes using their own voices and even photos, the 119-page main story features a lively, multi-voiced audio reading, many touch- or tilt-activated items and thumbnail chapter and page indexes. On every page, there is a self-record button along with a set of colored markers that have no evident purpose aside from creating random noises or scribbles.

Still, fine fare for readers who prefer their nautical comedy broad and don’t mind a few typos along the way. (iPad storybook app. 8-10)

Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Giunti Editore

Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011

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WAYS TO GROW LOVE

From the Ryan Hart series , Vol. 2

by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Niña Mata ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 27, 2021

The second installment in this spirited series is a hit.

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A new baby coming means Ryan has lots of opportunities to grow love.

Ryan has so much to look forward to this summer—she is going to be a big sister, and she finally gets to go to church camp! But new adventures bring challenges, too. Ryan feels like the baby is taking forever to arrive, and with Mom on bed rest, she isn’t able to participate in the family’s typical summer activities. Ryan’s Dad is still working the late shift, which means he gets home and goes to bed when she and her older brother, Ray, are waking up, so their quality daddy-daughter time is limited to one day a week. When the time for camp finally arrives, Ryan is so worried about bugs, ghosts, and sharing a cabin that she wonders if she should go at all. Watson’s heroine is smart and courageous, bringing her optimistic attitude to any challenge she faces. Hard topics like family finances and complex relationships with friends are discussed in an age-appropriate way. Watson continues to excel at crafting a sense of place; she transports readers to Portland, Oregon, with an attention to detail that can only come from someone who has loved that city. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and occasional illustrations by Mata spotlight their joy and make this book shine.

The second installment in this spirited series is a hit. (Fiction. 8-10)

Pub Date: April 27, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0058-8

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
BLACK GIRL YOU ARE ATLAS
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Ekua Holmes

- BOOK REVIEW
WAYS TO SHARE JOY
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Andrew Grey

- BOOK REVIEW
MAYA’S SONG
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Bryan Collier

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THE LEMONADE CRIME

From the Lemonade War series , Vol. 2

by Jacqueline Davies ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2011

Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage...

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This sequel to The Lemonade War (2007), picking up just a few days later, focuses on how the fourth graders take justice into their own hands after learning that the main suspect in the case of the missing lemonade-stand money now owns the latest in game-box technology.

Siblings Evan and Jessie (who skipped third grade because of her precocity) are sure Scott Spencer stole the $208 from Evan’s shorts and want revenge, especially as Scott’s new toy makes him the most popular kid in class, despite his personal shortcomings. Jessie’s solution is to orchestrate a full-blown trial by jury after school, while Evan prefers to challenge Scott in basketball. Neither channel proves satisfactory for the two protagonists (whose rational and emotional reactions are followed throughout the third-person narrative), though, ultimately, the matter is resolved. Set during the week of Yom Kippur, the story raises beginning questions of fairness, integrity, sin and atonement. Like John Grisham's Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer (2010), much of the book is taken up with introducing courtroom proceedings for a fourth-grade level of understanding. Chapter headings provide definitions (“due diligence,” “circumstantial evidence,” etc.) and explanation cards/documents drawn by Jessie are interspersed.

Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage with the characters enough to care about how the justice actually pans out. (Fiction. 8-10)