Squeaky-clean, good fun, even if a little underdeveloped.
A crisp, clear comic romp about two alien friends who uncover a gently sinister scheme that could destroy both their home planet and a small fishing town on Earth.
Stylistically reminiscent of Jar Jar Binks (though highly likable instead of annoying), Dalen and Gole are two extraterrestrial best friends who live for jet racing on their home planet Budap. When they lose a race to the obviously shifty Tunax (who wins a race with the assistance of a mysterious cloud of purple smoke), Dalen—the less cynical of the duo as well as the better loser—offers him both congratulations and an assist in putting his jet racer away. While doing so, Dalen and Gole accidentally discover a tunnel that transports the pair to Earth’s Port Angus, a small fishing village on the brink of ruin, as all of the fish have been disappearing. Upon further investigation, they learn that both the mysterious purple smoke and the missing fish share a “fishy” connection, and the twin fates of Budap and Port Angus lie in their hands. Deas’ art has a clarion brightness and is tidily paneled across the page. Driven mainly by cartoon action, the character development is lacking, and a truly likable character—Rachel, the Earth-girl who befriends Dalen and Gole—is left somewhat shapeless and one-dimensional.
Squeaky-clean, good fun, even if a little underdeveloped. (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55469-800-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
An uplifting, sympathetic portrayal of dyslexia and friendship.
A young dyslexic girl struggles with reading.
Stella Martinez can’t wait to start fifth grade. She and her BFFs, Latasha and Emiko, even get to sit together in Miss Marin’s class. But to Stella’s dismay, school soon feels like “one big reading class.” Even math, one of her favorite subjects besides art, has word problems, and the fifth grade project is a Young Authors Competition. Textbooks have longer words and fewer pictures, making comprehension time-consuming, and Stella falls behind. Even the new online universe for Stella and her friends’ favorite show, Witchlins, requires a guidebook, which Stella has trouble following. As her BFFs and classmates discuss the game, Stella feels left out. Will reading ruin her friendships? Garcia, who based Stella’s story on her daughter’s journey of coming to terms with dyslexia and her own experiences with neurodivergence, introduces a multifaceted protagonist with a learning disability and encouragingly highlights various coping strategies. Adults are warmly supportive, barring a dour, gray-haired, light-skinned librarian whose misconception that graphic novels aren’t “real” books is emphatically dispelled. In keeping with Miss Marin’s affirmation that “all brains work differently,” the book’s clear lettering, decodable text, and expressive art invite readers of all abilities to root for Stella. Stella and her dad and sibling are brown-skinned and cued Latine; Mom is pale-skinned. Latasha presents Black, Emiko is of East Asian descent, and Miss Marin has light-brown skin.
An uplifting, sympathetic portrayal of dyslexia and friendship. (resources, cover design process) (Graphic fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781250840882
Page Count: 208
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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