Young heroes both male and female rout many excellent monsters—what’s not to like? (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 9-11)
Knights errant who cut their teeth battling dinosaurs in the previous episode take on magical mist monsters.
Fresh from the exploits chronicled in Knights Vs. Dinosaurs (2018) and on the lookout for a “proper adventure,” Sirs Erec, Bors, and Hector, the fearsome Black Knight Magdalena, and former squire in disguise Melancholy “Mel” Postlethwaite fetch up in the bleak Orkney Isles, where sorcerous Queen Morgause plans to do them in as part of a larger scheme to dethrone King Arthur. Along with several of her raffish offspring—including creepy young Mordred, who temporarily turns Sir Hector into a two-headed “bi-clops”—the doughty Band of the Terrible Lizards faces burgeoning hordes of monsters summoned out of the fog by the evil queen. Though chock-full of briskly paced action and glints of humor, this is a darker tale than its predecessor, colored more by its harsh setting and undercurrents of treachery than all the knightly feats and values on display. Phelan’s many panels and full-page drawings have an ashy, smudged look that adds to the gloomy atmosphere, and as someone who plainly has a few heavy secrets in her past, Magdalena projects a cold, austere remoteness that dims the rest of the company’s (rarer than previously) comical banter and bumbling. Still, a pleaser for fans of Gerald Morris’ Arthurian delights.
Young heroes both male and female rout many excellent monsters—what’s not to like? (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 9-11)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-268626-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
A fizzy mix of low humor and brisk action, with promise of more of both to come.
Heroic deeds await Isaac after his little sister runs into the school basement and is captured by elves.
Even though their school is a spooky old castle transplanted stone by stone from Germany, Isaac and his two friends, Max and Emma, little suspect that an entire magical kingdom lies beneath—a kingdom run by elves, policed by oversized rats in uniform, and populated by captives who start out human but undergo transformative “weirding.” These revelations await Isaac and sidekicks as they nerve themselves to trail his bossy younger sib, Lily, through a shadowy storeroom and into a tunnel, across a wide lake, and into a city lit by half-human fireflies, where they are cast together into a dungeon. Can they escape before they themselves start changing? Gibson pits his doughty rescuers against such adversaries as an elven monarch who emits truly kingly belches and a once-human jailer with a self-picking nose. Tests of mettle range from a riddle contest to a face-off with the menacing head rat Shelfliver, and a helter-skelter chase finally leads rescuers and rescued back to the aboveground. Plainly, though, there is further rescuing to be done.
A fizzy mix of low humor and brisk action, with promise of more of both to come. (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62370-255-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
It’s not the first time old Ben has paid our times a call, but it’s funny and free-spirited, with an informational load that...
Antics both instructive and embarrassing ensue after a mysterious package left on their doorstep brings a Founding Father into the lives of two modern children.
Summoned somehow by what looks for all the world like an old-time crystal radio set, Ben Franklin turns out to be an amiable sort. He is immediately taken in hand by 7-year-old Olive for a tour of modern wonders—early versions of which many, from electrical appliances in the kitchen to the Illinois town’s public library and fire department, he justly lays claim to inventing. Meanwhile big brother Nolan, 10, tags along, frantic to return him to his own era before either their divorced mom or snoopy classmate Tommy Tuttle sees him. Fleming, author of Ben Franklin’s Almanac (2003) (and also, not uncoincidentally considering the final scene of this outing, Our Eleanor, 2005), mixes history with humor as the great man dispenses aphorisms and reminiscences through diverse misadventures, all of which end well, before vanishing at last. Following a closing, sequel-cueing kicker (see above) she then separates facts from fancies in closing notes, with print and online leads to more of the former. To go with spot illustrations of the evidently all-white cast throughout the narrative, Fearing incorporates change-of-pace sets of sequential panels for Franklin’s biographical and scientific anecdotes. Final illustrations not seen.
It’s not the first time old Ben has paid our times a call, but it’s funny and free-spirited, with an informational load that adds flavor without weight. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93406-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
