Fun escapades for budding fantasy fans.
A trio of adventurers search for the second of 12 missing magic stones in order to safeguard the Kingdom of Ravenwood.
Picking up a week after the events chronicled in the first installment (summed up in a quick recap), this book sees the Stone Seekers—youngsters Dak and Fenn and Lucy the magical llama—preparing for a new mission by researching in the library. After they teleport to the forest near the royal castle, they realize that the alicorns—winged unicorns capable of telekinesis—have the stone. Alicorns are notoriously shy, so the team members seek help from Queen Luna. Though the palace is aflutter with preparations for a royal wedding, the queen invites them to consult the royal library. Along the way, they befriend Prince Kamoni and his friend Antonia (both wizard students) and encounter the alicorns. While Reyes relies on well-trod fantasy themes and tropes, young readers will find this book a welcome introduction to the genre. The writing is clear and the pacing effective. Compared with the first volume, this tale offers more character growth and minor but significant internal conflict. Dak deals with complex feelings toward Fenn; he finds her a bit bossy but wishes he could emulate her bravery and confidence. The cartoon art is at its best when depicting the alicorns. Dak, Queen Luna, and Kamoni appear brown-skinned in the illustrations, while Fenn and Antonia are light-skinned.
Fun escapades for budding fantasy fans. (map, excerpt from Fenn’s creature journal, questions and activities) (Fantasy. 6-9)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593808573
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
Charming.
An assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.
Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, old-fashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin.
Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942485
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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