Powerful pussycat perfection!
Who can save the city and meme his way into the hearts of all? Cat Ninja!
Metro City has no idea that its adorable yet deadly protector Cat Ninja is but a humble house cat by day. Leon’s cat, Claude, appears ordinary enough, but when Master Hamster threatens everyone’s bank accounts from his hamster-ball–headed super robot body, Claude becomes Cat Ninja, using the skills he learned as a kitten watching ninja movies with a kindly old lady—who became a ninja crime fighter when attacked. Yes, there are villains everywhere for Cat Ninja to fight, but Leon is having a rough time too. His parents are just beginning divorce proceedings; he and his sister, Marcie, hate having two houses and the way their parents separately vie for their attention. While the family drama plays out, Cat Ninja is busy keeping the city safe from the Raccoon Bros and Chat Noir, but is our kitty hero up to beating a supervillain menace who’s arming the city’s baddies? Cody’s hyperbolic superhero-movie narration and Mercado’s vibrant, dynamic panels hit the sweet spot, marrying humor and heroics. Leon, Marcie, and their mom all have beige skin; the kids’ dad presents White. A short comic featuring villain Fury Roach penned by Colleen AF Venable and a humorous quiz close what readers will hope is but the first outing for Cat Ninja.
Powerful pussycat perfection! (Graphic fantasy. 7-14)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5248-6094-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
A solid series starter for tinkerers and adventurers alike.
Even robot cats have a mind of their own.
All 12-year-old Canadian Lacey Chu’s ever wanted was to become a companioneer like her idol, Monica Chan, co-founder of the largest tech firm in North America, Moncha Corp., and mastermind behind the baku. Bakus, “robotic pets with all the features of a smartphone,” revolutionized society and how people interact with technology. As a companioneer, Lacey could work on bakus: designing, innovating, and building. When she receives a grant rejection from Profectus Academy of Science and Technology, a school that guarantees employment at Moncha Corp., she’s devastated. A happenstance salvaging of a mangled cat baku might just change the game. Suddenly, Lacey’s got an in with Profectus and is one step closer to her dream. Jinx, however, is not quite like the other bakus—he’s a wild cat that does things without commands. Together with Jinx, Lacey will have to navigate competitive classmates and unsettling corporate secrets. McCulloch effectively strikes a balance between worldbuilding and action. High-stakes baku battles demonstrate the emotional bond between (robotic) pet and owner. Readers will also connect to the relationships the Asian girl forges with her diverse classmates, including a rivalry with Carter (a white boy who’s the son of Moncha’s other co-founder, Eric Smith), a burgeoning crush on student Tobias, who’s black, and evolving friendships new and old. While some mysteries are solved, a cliffhanger ending raises even more for the next installment.
A solid series starter for tinkerers and adventurers alike. (Science fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8374-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey.
Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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