An often delightful series starter in an unusual setting, with educational moments and appealing illustrations.
A charming chapter book for young readers about four fairy friends who must work together and use special powers to save a stranded arctic fox pup.
North Everstar and her fellow fairies Lucy Dawn, Willow Brightfrost, and Charm Iceglade are recruited to join the Frost Wings, a team that aims to protect the animals of the arctic tundra. Their positions come with superpowers, bestowed upon them by the Arctic Fairy Queen, which are unique to their individual personalities. For example, Lucy receives the power of healing, due to her love of taking care of animals, and Charm receives magical mending thread, because she has a talent for crafting things. The fairies support one another, work through their emotions, and overcome obstacles as a team throughout the rescue, providing an engaging narrative with a good message for children. Their mission to save the adorable young arctic fox, Pounce, takes them out onto an ice floe in the ocean, leads to a close encounter with a polar bear, and requires them to outwit Blaze, a mean rival fairy. The simple prose is well suited for a young chapter-book audience and communicates the fairies’ emotions accessibly and authentically. Black-and-white cartoon illustrations throughout enhance the text, bringing the arctic landscape and creatures to life. Willow is portrayed as Black and Charm appears to have brown skin; North and other characters are portrayed with pale skin. One unexplained element is that although it's established that the fairies feel cold, the illustrations only depict them as wearing summery, short-sleeved clothing instead of weather-appropriate outfits. The book also includes a few pages of fun facts about arctic animals at the end, which bolsters the story’s descriptions of the environment.
An often delightful series starter in an unusual setting, with educational moments and appealing illustrations.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781960834010
Page Count: 101
Publisher: Snowdrop Books
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts.
What terrors lurk within your mouth? Jasper Rabbit knows.
“You have stumbled your way into the unknown.” The young bunny introduced in Reynolds and Brown’s Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, Creepy Carrots (2012), takes up Rod Serling’s mantle, and the fit is perfect. Mimicking an episode of The Twilight Zone, the book follows Charlie Marmot, an average kid with a penchant for the strange and unusual. He’s pleased when his tonsils become infected; maybe once they’re out he can take them to school for show and tell! That’s when bizarre things start to happen: Noises in the night. Slimy trails on his bedroom floor. And when Charlie goes in for his surgery, he’s told that the tonsils have disappeared from his throat; clearly something sinister is afoot. Those not yet ready for Goosebumps levels of horror will find this a welcome starter pack. Reynolds has perfected the tension he employed in his Creepy Tales! series, and partner in crime Brown imbues each illustration with both humor and a delicate undercurrent of dark foreshadowing. While the fleshy pink tonsils—the sole spot of color in this black-and-white world—aren’t outrageously gross, there’s something distinctly disgusting about them. And though the book stars cute, furry woodland creatures, the spooky surprise ending is 100% otherworldly—a marvelous moment of twisted logic.
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts. (Early chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781665961080
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
Lively fun with animal friends.
Has Plum’s pep deserted him?
Several animals from the Athensville Zoo are on their way to visit an elementary school. Overconfident Itch the ningbing (an Australian marsupial), unaware that zookeeper Lizzie will be doing all the talking, looks forward to “lecturing eager young minds.” Plum, the usually chipper peacock, on the other hand, is anxious—maybe the schoolchildren won’t like him or he’ll get lost. So when they arrive at the school to find the students have been sent home due to a blizzard, Plum is relieved. The animals are left in a school gym for the night until three self-important class mice free them. Itch heads for the library to meet the learned turtle, but Plum reluctantly explores with his friends. When his anxiety peaks, they reassure him, and when the mice reject Meg, another peacock, as “borrrring” and uncool, they buoy her as well before everyone comes together to save Itch, who finds himself outside and stranded in a snowdrift. Unlike Leave It to Plum (2022), this is not a mystery, and the relationship focus shifts from Lizzie to the rodents, but the pace is brisk, and sequel seekers will be pleased to revisit familiar characters (if dismayed that Itch’s longing for knowledge leads to his downfall). In Phelan’s engaging grayscale pen-and-wash illustrations, Lizzie has short curly hair; text and art cue her as Latine.
Lively fun with animal friends. (how to draw Plum) (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-307920-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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