bookshelf

KING OF THE MOON

Name: KING OF THE MOON
Author: Mr. Kind
ISBN: 978-1-67240-715-1

From the Mr. Kind Stories series , Vol. 2

by Mr. Kind ; illustrated by Zacc Pollitt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2020

A strange, colorfully illustrated tale of magic and friendship that sometimes lacks clarity.

bookshelf

A man with a special sandwich visits the King of the Moon in this picture book.

Clyde —a pink-skinned man with “stained yellow” hair, outlandishly colored clothing, a pocket watch two hours behind, and gloves with holes—is best friends with an apple tree named Sam. Clyde wishes to go to the moon. While pondering how to get there, he realizes he can’t share his “bread, cheese, and ham” sandwich with his “dear, good friend Sam” without some tricks. He digs a hole, buries the sandwich, and voilà: A staircase to the moon appears. Clyde travels up the staircase to meet the brown-skinned King of the Moon, encounters a talking table with a potion that affects a person’s size—reminiscent of Lewis Carroll—and returns to Sam with some magical lunar water. As in Kind and Pollitt’s earlier fable, The Story of Bluff (2018), the author’s rhymes are offbeat. They often fall into obvious patterns, but sometimes they leave readers searching for the rhyme. Pollitt’s geometric digital cartoon images are whimsical and surreal, emphasizing the oddness of the setting. They depict Clyde’s encounter with first the giant, brown-skinned Queen of the Moon (shown only at a distance) and then the tiny King of the Moon. But there’s no discernible moral to this story, and the tale never explains Clyde’s desire to travel to the moon or why a sandwich causes a staircase to materialize.

A strange, colorfully illustrated tale of magic and friendship that sometimes lacks clarity.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-67240-715-1

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Self

Review Posted Online: March 18, 2020

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE STORY OF BLUFF
by Mr. Kind , illustrated by Zacc Pollitt

bookshelf

THE LION OF LARK-HAYES MANOR

by Aubrey Hartman ; illustrated by Christopher Cyr ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2023

A pleasing premise for book lovers.

bookshelf

A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.

When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)

A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Pub Date: May 2, 2023

ISBN: 9780316448222

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE UNDEAD FOX OF DEADWOOD FOREST
by Aubrey Hartman ; illustrated by Marcin Minor

bookshelf

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL

From the School for Good and Evil series , Vol. 1

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.

bookshelf

Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.

Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)