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DINO TROUBLE

From the Arcade World series , Vol. 1

An entertaining series opener whose simple storyline can be forgiven.

Travis and Journey’s new normal is life inside of a video game.

When strange newcomer Mr. Miniboss shows up in town and turns an abandoned building into a magical, mysterious, free-entry video game center dubbed Arcade World, all of the neighborhood kids immediately become obsessed. But the arcade soon turns sinister when all of the video games come alive. The story centers on Travis and his best friend, Journey, who realize that they have been transported into their new favorite game, Dino Trouble. They must survive numerous threats—including being chased by glittery dinosaurs—as they try to figure out who really owns Arcade World and how to get back to Normal, which happens to be the name of their town. Travis is White, and Journey has light brown skin. While the dynamic comic-book graphics deliver an action-packed romp, character development and dialogue are a bit shallow and shaky. Some plot points can serve as springboards for conversations about screen time and healthy use of online technologies. The funny cliffhanger ending does its job—young readers will want to read the next installment to find out what happens next.

An entertaining series opener whose simple storyline can be forgiven. (Graphic novel. 7-9)

Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-66590-465-0

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021

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THE PIRATE PIG

A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure.

It’s not truffles but doubloons that tickle this porcine wayfarer’s fancy.

Funke and Meyer make another foray into chapter-book fare after Emma and the Blue Genie (2014). Here, mariner Stout Sam and deckhand Pip eke out a comfortable existence on Butterfly Island ferrying cargo to and fro. Life is good, but it takes an unexpected turn when a barrel washes ashore containing a pig with a skull-and-crossbones pendant around her neck. It soon becomes clear that this little piggy, dubbed Julie, has the ability to sniff out treasure—lots of it—in the sea. The duo is pleased with her skills, but pride goeth before the hog. Stout Sam hands out some baubles to the local children, and his largess attracts the unwanted attention of Barracuda Bill and his nasty minions. Now they’ve pignapped Julie, and it’s up to the intrepid sailors to save the porker and their own bacon. The succinct word count meets the needs of kids looking for early adventure fare. The tale is slight, bouncy, and amusing, though Julie is never the piratical buccaneer the book’s cover seems to suggest. Meanwhile, Meyer’s cheery watercolors are as comfortable diagramming the different parts of a pirate vessel as they are rendering the dread pirate captain himself.

A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure. (Adventure. 7-9)

Pub Date: June 23, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-385-37544-3

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015

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DANGER! TIGER CROSSING

From the Fantastic Frame series , Vol. 1

Eeney meeney miney moe, catch this series before it goes! (Adventure. 7-9)

Two kids get up close and personal with some great works of art in this first in a new series.

Tiger Brooks is used to his little sister’s fantastical stories. So when the top-hatted orange pig she describes turns out to be not only real, but a next-door neighbor, Tiger enlists the help of his kooky new friend, Luna, to investigate. It turns out the pig works for the reclusive painter Viola Dots. Years ago a magical picture frame swallowed up her only son, and she’s searched for him in artworks ever since. When Tiger’s tinkering starts the magic up again, he and Luna are sucked into a reproduction of Henri Rousseau’s Surprised! or Tiger in a Tropical Storm, hungry predator and all. After meeting and failing to rescue Viola’s son in this adventure, the series is set up for the intrepid pair to infiltrate other classic paintings in the future. Backmatter provides information on the real Rousseau and his life. Oliver keeps the plot itself snappy and peppy. While there are few surprises, there’s also an impressive lack of lag time. This is helped in no small part by Kallis’ art, which goes from pen-and-ink drawings to full-blown color images once the kids cross over into the painting. Tiger is a white boy, and Luna is a dark-haired Latina.

Eeney meeney miney moe, catch this series before it goes! (Adventure. 7-9)

Pub Date: April 26, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-448-48087-9

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016

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