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.
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
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by Mr. Kind , illustrated by Zacc Pollitt
by Elisa Sabatinelli ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ; translated by Christopher Turner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 2021
Beautiful, remarkable, amazing, and wonderful in every way.
Hector wants to be a deep-sea diver, just like his father and grandfather.
He has internalized all his grandfather’s tales, especially the story of the “rarest, whitest, and purist pearl in the world,” said to live on the seabed offshore near the Marina, their family business. But the greedy Amedeo Limonta has set up a competitive business that’s forced the Marina to close. When Hector turns 8, everything changes. On his very first dive, he discovers the magical Pearl and brings it home…and complications ensue. Hector heeds his memories and dreams of his grandfather and courageously makes it all right. Hector narrates his adventures in meticulously organized chapters, carefully introducing each character, providing detailed information about relationships and events, and sharing credit for his successes. At the conclusion Hector presents readers with vivid descriptions of his beloved village and its inhabitants. Sabatinelli provides Hector with a voice that soars with lilting, expressive language, losing nothing in Turner’s translation from Italian. Bruno’s intensely bright, sharply hued illustrations are a tour de force. A chart of semaphore flags and diagrams that detail the parts of a diving suit fill the opening pages, and those flags head each chapter. The sea is evoked with glorious dreamlike color and movement, and characters’ features and expressions immediately announce their nature, emotions, and quirks. All present White. Hector is wise, kind, and readers will take him to their hearts.
Beautiful, remarkable, amazing, and wonderful in every way. (Adventure. 6-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63655-006-0
Page Count: 92
Publisher: Red Comet Press
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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PERSPECTIVES
by Annie Matthew ; developed by Kobe Bryant ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 24, 2021
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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by Annie Matthew ; developed by Kobe Bryant
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