A novelist for adults tries for a younger audience with a condescending, thinly disguised pastiche of classic and recent fantasies. Two children, doughty Abby and Spike, an amnesiac foundling who (of course) turns out to be a prince, help rescue their captive parents, plus a group of kidnapped children who are being forced to mind magic Dust (“Snow Dust”) from a subterranean Antarctic land. Along the way, the pair meet Captain Starlight, the Ancient Mariner himself, with his oversized albatross companion Benbow, an irascible librarian with a staff of elves, monsters, and ancient machines that respond only to the good of heart, and a positive array of witches. There’s bluff Sea Witches; pompous but well-meaning Light Witches; and fetid, bat-cloaked Night Witches plotting to exterminate their rivals with a mixture of Fairy—er, Snow Dust and toxic sludge. The author leaves no doubt about whom to hiss and whom to root for as, along the way, the good guys Save A Whale and participate in a performance of Peter Pan in which a traitor is unmasked by his refusal to clap for Tinker Bell. Attempts to inject wonder, surprise, and humor into the tale fall as flat as the climactic battle, in which the chief bad guy stands by wringing his hands as Abby heals an immense serpent with Kindness, then vanishes (sequels, anyone?), leaving his evil cohorts to blow up at the least whiff of Snow Dust. Wyatt supplies pen-and-ink sprays of twinkling stars, and Jules Verne–like spot illustrations, some of which recur. There’s not much here for fans of J.M. Barrie, Joan Aiken, Pullman’s His Dark Materials, and the like beyond a sense of déjà vu. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-439-29659-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In a third book that links the imagination of a small child with the toy vehicles in his possession, S°s (Trucks, Trucks, Trucks, p. 538, etc.) puts realistic scenes of a child on the lefthand pages, and the scenes the child envisions on right. On one page, a boy sits on a sofa with a couple of boxes and a couple of poles and a small blanket. A blue scatter rug is on the floor. Opposite that scene is the same boy, but now the sofa is in a state of transformation. Gradually, through the pages, it is first an amorphous conveyance, then an inflatable, a canoe, a sailboat, a junk, until it becomes a great liner. The little rug, of course, becomes the sea. The pages march correspondingly along, with the boy arranging the boxes and poles into his vessel of choice. A fold-out page reveals a terrific sea monster, but a mother appears, too, with her vacuum cleaner, bringing boy and readers back to shore. S°s is at his simple best, using broad lines to depict reality, and then the spidery, dot-dash penwork to shape his fantasy world; he and children speak the same language to weave their dreams. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16644-X
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
One-upping the painted illustrations in Graeme Base’s Discovery of Dragons (1996), these elaborately casual snapshots capture glimpses of 16 fairies observed in various leafy, far-flung locales. Adopting the persona of a scientist bent on completing a predecessor’s 19th-century field guide, Scalora provides (in a ridiculously tiny typeface) travel notes and background; the glossy full-color photographs—created using live models, wings constructed from a variety of materials, and computer manipulation—range from full-body views to fleeting hints of a face or form. Lushly hued (each of the fairies here is associated with a color), they evoke a shadowy, elusive realm hidden, usually, within our own; readers susceptible to the likes of Nancy Willard’s Alphabet of Angels (1994) or caught up in the recent revival of the Victorian-era fairy fad will be beguiled by the mystery and magic here. For everyone else, the book’s closing credits, with lists of stylists, models, equipment, and acknowledgments, provide a refreshing peek into the mechanics behind the photographs. (Picture book. 8-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 31, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-028234-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
© 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.
