by Neil Christopher ; illustrated by Larry MacDougall ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2015
As monsters go, the amautalik is a satisfyingly disgusting and scary one, and this introduction should appeal to a broad...
Among the perils of the Arctic is the amautalik, a terrifying, child-snatching ogress.
This introduction to the lore of the amautaliit offers a brief overview of the creatures’ physical characteristics (huge, filthy, and ugly), habitat (underground), and accessories—typically, an amautalik carries a basket on her back, made of driftwood and bones and lined with rotting seaweed in which giant insects make their own homes. Christopher then offers two stories, the first fairly lengthy. Two naughty boys and a quiet little girl are snatched by an amautalik and carried away in her basket. Kunaju, the girl, keeps her head, and when her amulet turns into a magic snow bunting that distracts the ogress, she leads the two boys back home. In the second story, a clever orphan boy uses his wits to scare another amautalik away. The book closes with a four-page gallery of other Arctic monsters. MacDougall contributes pencil sketches and lush oil paintings of tundra, children, and monsters, as well as lovingly depicted and extremely icky giant bugs. Inuktitut words are defined in footnotes, along with pronunciations; in a particularly graceful design choice, a tiny ulu (a curved knife traditionally used by women) substitutes for an asterisk. There are no source notes or bibliography, but the author is a Nunavut resident and student of Inuit lore.
As monsters go, the amautalik is a satisfyingly disgusting and scary one, and this introduction should appeal to a broad range of middle-grade readers. (Folklore. 8-12)Pub Date: June 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-927095-79-9
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
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by Kate DiCamillo ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Tenderly resonant and memorable.
Ferris finds herself in the midst of several love stories during the summer before fifth grade.
Emma Phineas Wilkey’s moniker comes from the circumstances of her birth: under the Ferris wheel at the fairground. Her contained world, centered around her family and best friend, is filled with kindness, humor, and singular personalities, while the indeterminate late-20th-century small-town setting feels like a safe place from which to observe heartbreak and loss. Ferris’ architect father and her pragmatic mother, on break from teaching high school math, anchor her home life, along with Pinky, her hilariously ferocious 6-year-old sister, and Charisse, her grandmother, who claims to have seen an unhappy ghost in their big old house. Ferris’ best friend, Billy Jackson, whom she’s loved since kindergarten, hears the music of the world: “The whole world is singing all the time.” Ferris, serious and sensitive, is attuned to the ways that the vocabulary words they learned in Mrs. Mielk’s fourth grade class describe moments in her life. DiCamillo’s gift for conveying an entire person and world in a few brushstrokes of storytelling provides depth and quiet magic to this account of an eventful summer in which a ghost is appeased, an outlaw (Pinky) is somewhat reformed, and an uncle and aunt are reconciled. Ferris experiences two surprising moments of transcendence and becomes aware of the ways love suffuses everything. Characters are cued white.
Tenderly resonant and memorable. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781536231052
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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by Max Brallier ; illustrated by Douglas Holgate ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 13, 2015
Classic action-packed, monster-fighting fun
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New York Times Bestseller
It’s been 42 days since the Monster Apocalypse began, and 13-year-old Jack Sullivan, a self-proclaimed “zombie-fighting, monster-slaying tornado of cool” is on a quest to find and rescue his not-so-secret crush, June Del Toro, whether she needs it, wants it, or not.
Jack cobbles together an unlikely but endearing crew, including his scientist best friend, Quint Baker; Dirk Savage, Parker Middle School’s biggest bully; and a pet monster named Rover, to help him save the damsel in distress and complete the “ULTIMATE Feat of Apocalyptic Success.” Middle-grade readers, particularly boys, will find Jack’s pitch-perfect mix of humor, bravado, and self-professed geekiness impossible to resist. His sidekicks are equally entertaining, and it doesn’t hurt that there are also plenty of oozing, drooling, sharp-toothed monsters and zombies and a host of gizmos and gadgets to hook readers and keep them cheering with every turn of the page. Holgate’s illustrations play an integral role in the novel’s success. They not only bring Brallier’s characters to life, but also add depth and detail to the story, making plain just exactly how big Rover is and giving the lie to Jack’s “killer driving.” The marriage of text and illustration serves as a perfect example of what an illustrated novel can and should be.
Classic action-packed, monster-fighting fun (. (Graphic/horror hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-670-01661-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
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