A snug, contemporary adventure—romantic realism, innocent yet hearty.
A young boy sets off on his own, without permission, across Europe, in this German import.
Carlo has felt unsettled for five months, two weeks, and eight days—ever since Mama kicked Papa out of the house. Papa was flaky and sometimes disappeared for days, but he was affectionate and robust, and Carlo misses him terribly. Surely if Carlo can reach him, he can bring him back. So, lying to Mama that he’ll be at a friend’s house, this 11-year-old begins at his local train station and heads from Bochum, Germany, to Palermo, Sicily. His trip is a succulent travelogue, flavored with foods and scenic views and feelings. Challenges include lack of funds, suspicious adults everywhere, the need to lie to Mama via text message, and a taxi driver who robs him between Rome and Palermo. Highlights include a dog conveniently chewing a train ticket (who says it wasn’t Carlo’s?), hiding in a lifeboat to stow away on a ferry, a boisterous and kind Italian family ladling up pasta with ham sauce, and the reunion with Papa. Papa and Carlo are both fat; Carlo’s been hassled for it and twice refers to his “mozzarella-belly,” but the narrative viewpoint casts fatness as refreshingly neutral and even makes Carlo’s and Papa’s similar bodies a point of warm connection. Carlo is white, half Sicilian and probably half German.
A snug, contemporary adventure—romantic realism, innocent yet hearty. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: June 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-912868-02-5
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Dedalus Limited
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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