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THE ROBBER HOTZENPLOTZ

Name: THE ROBBER HOTZENPLOTZ
Author: Otfried Preussler
ISBN: 978-1-59017-961-1

by Otfried Preussler ; illustrated by Anthea Bell ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 1965

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<p>Hotzenplotz's theft of a musical coffee mill set Kasperl and his straightman friend Seppel in pursuit of the notorious bandit. Their elaborate tracking simply snares them in the robber's den, and their involved escape includes outwitting a magician. The team of Kasperl and Seppel is sort of a lumbering counterpart of Laurel and Hardy. When described in full, their outlandish actions generally seem clumsy and foolish and not really terribly humorous. The book is translated from the German and is by the same author of Thomas Scarecrow and The Wise Men of Schilda (1963).</p>

Pub Date: March 26, 1965

ISBN: 978-1-59017-961-1

Page Count: 120

Publisher: New York Review Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1965

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LITTLE WITCH
by Otfried Preussler ; illustrated by Winnie Gebhardt-Gayler ; translated by Anthea Bell

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LITTLE WATER SPRITE
by Otfried Preussler ; illustrated by Winnie Gebhardt-Gayler ; translated by Anthea Bell

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THE WILD ROBOT PROTECTS

From the Wild Robot series , Vol. 3

by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.

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Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.

When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.

Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023

ISBN: 9780316669412

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WILD ROBOT ON THE ISLAND
by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
CREEPY CRAYON!
by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
FRED GETS DRESSED
by Peter Brown ; illustrated by Peter Brown

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FREE FALL

by David Wiesner ; illustrated by David Wiesner ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 20, 1988

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In an imaginative wordless picture book, Wiesner (illustrator of Kite Flyer, 1986) tours a dream world suggested by the books and objects in a boy's room. A series of transitions—linked by a map in the book that the boy was reading as he fell asleep—wafts him, pajama-clad, from an aerial view of hedge-bordered fields to a chessboard with chess pieces, some changing into their realistic counterparts (plus a couple of eerie roundheaded figures based on pawns that reappear throughout); next appear a castle; a mysterious wood in which lurks a huge, whimsical dragon; the interior of a neoclassical palace; and a series of fantastic landscapes that eventually transport the boy back to his own bed. Most interesting here are the visual links Wiesner uses in his journey's evolution; it's fun to trace the many details from page to page. There's a bow to Van Allsburg, and another to Sendak's In the Night Kitchen, but Wiesner's broad double-spreads of a dream world—whose muted colors suggest a silent space outside of time—have their own charm. Intriguing.