A lighthearted reminder that first impressions, like appearances, can be deceiving.
A princess proves wiser than her royal dads when it comes to figuring out what a newly arrived ogre is up to.
It’s easy to see how a new neighbor who is “hulking and hairy, / fearsome and scary” could make a bad first impression on everyone in the kingdom—or practically everyone, anyway. Despite a few unfortunate incidents during certain royal events, young Pru thinks he might just be lonely…and so neither she nor cannier readers will share the general terror when he begins buying up cupcakes by the score, a mountain of snacks, gobs of craft supplies, and lots of balloons. And indeed, when she rides up the hill on her ostrich with her three pet tarantulas in tow (Pru’s life, Fergus writes, “was practically perfect”), the ensuing party is the best in memory and the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The darker of the tan-skinned princess’s dads sports an outsize turban and a handlebar mustache; the other has skin the same color as Pru’s. Mohiuddin’s humorous cartoon illustrations depict a diverse populace more than willing, once the ice is broken, to give the grinning gray monster the benefit of the doubt. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A lighthearted reminder that first impressions, like appearances, can be deceiving. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781771475006
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A wacky adventure that stands out through highlighting its heroine’s foibles, giving her plenty of room to grow in future...
A tomboy princess wishes to become a knight.
Don’t call her Princess Serena—self-styled Princess Pulverizer is the Royal School of Ladylike Manners’ pre-eminent troublemaker, and she would rather learn to fence than dance. She begs her kingly father to let her attend Knight School. The king—skeptical due to her temperament rather than her gender—will allow it only after she demonstrates knightly virtues. “Even she knew that honor, kindness, and sacrifice weren’t exactly her strong points.” He sends her on a Quest of Kindness, requiring eight good deeds (with proof—the king knows she would cheat if she could). After her first attempt at kindness is a comedic flop, Princess Pulverizer hears of a queen whose jewels have gone missing. She deduces that an ogre must be the culprit and sets off to retrieve the jewels by purposefully getting captured. Getting out isn’t as easy as in, though. Cowardly Knight School dropout Lucas and his friend Dribble, a dragon ostracized because he’d rather cook grilled-cheese sandwiches than terrorize villages, attempt a rescue but with no success—the three outcasts must team up for a gassy escape solution. In the spot illustrations, animator Balistreri plays up the slapstick action and character expressiveness; Princess Pulverizer and her family appear to be white, while Lady Frump and other side characters are depicted with darker skin.
A wacky adventure that stands out through highlighting its heroine’s foibles, giving her plenty of room to grow in future installments. (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-515-15832-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
In video and on paper, the art casts an evocative glow, but the story is much changed and the transition from one medium to...
In this atmospheric version of the author’s prizewinning short film, a lad woos—and ultimately wins—the Moon.
Strangely, in the film, the story is revealed at the end to be an allegorical take on a more earthly pursuit, but here, Alaimo tells it straight. His heart captured by the Moon, a lonely boy endures “a long and arduous journey upward” (not depicted) to offer her a rose. She rejects that gift, as well as the pearl that he fetches from the sea and the diamond eye he intrepidly cuts from a dragon. Ignoring an old man’s warning that she would transform him forever, he finally ties the Moon in place until she beholds “the beauty of the colors of the day” and so accepts him at last. Except for the climactic daylight spread, the illustrations, drawn from the film, feature a boy, the big crescent Moon, and other shadowy figures lit in pale gold against dark backdrops of equally dim stars. Over and above the bondage bit, not only is the original’s plotline significantly altered and shortened, but two scenes—one showing the lad planning his final ploy and the other of a threatening shadow—are confusingly jammed together.
In video and on paper, the art casts an evocative glow, but the story is much changed and the transition from one medium to the other, awkwardly accomplished. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-939629-76-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Familius
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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