A pleasant novel that may have trouble standing out for young readers.
In Danforth’s (Stunner: A Ronnie Lake Mystery, 2013) illustrated middle-grade novel, a young girl gets a special birthday gift—a magical horse—with whom she goes on adventures, including protecting a wild herd of mustangs from horse thieves.
When young Moxie Wyoming Woodson asks for a horse for her 10th birthday, she expects a young, strapping animal. Instead, she gets an old, gray mare as a gift from her dad and grandfather. Although Misty was once a “legend,” she’s now being retired from Darwin Ranch, and Moxie’s family thinks they’d be perfect companions. At first, Moxie is disappointed because she won’t be able to take her barrel racing, but soon afterward, she starts to realize that Misty is no ordinary horse—she has a number of secret, special powers. She can understand Moxie and communicate with her through winking and foot stamping, in addition to even more fantastical powers such as temporarily regaining her youth, flying, turning invisible, and even opening up passageways to magical places. Later on, with Misty’s help, Moxie attempts to save a number of mustangs threatened by a gang of horse thieves. Aside from McCluskey’s lovely illustrations, Danforth’s novel has many charming features that should appeal to young readers, including a precocious, likable heroine and a depiction of the ordinary world punctuated by flashes of magic. It isn’t the sort of fantasy novel that plunges its characters into an epic adventure; instead, it offers a quieter sort of magical realism that is quite appealing. At the same time, its episodic nature and slow pace also make for a read that’s rarely if ever truly exciting, and unlike the classics of children’s literature, it doesn’t seem to have any profound aspirations or deep/deceptively simple lessons. It’s a gentle, straightforward, and ultimately not particularly memorable tale that has numerous humble pleasures but little that feels particularly significant or lasting.
A pleasant novel that may have trouble standing out for young readers.Pub Date: May 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-1507742082
Page Count: -
Publisher: Pancora Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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