No, the princess doesn’t really get her due—but at least the horse survives.
A dark, old tale recast in a lighter vein, featuring a young prince, a captive princess, and a troll with a hidden heart.
Setting out to find his six brothers and their brides, who have been turned to stone by an evil troll, Prince Fred gets help along the way from his nervous talking horse and a chance-met elephant, tricks a hungry wolf (rather than give it the horse in trade, as in the original), and enlists a willing princess to lie down with the troll (in pajamas) to winkle out just where the giant has hidden his heart. Said organ turns out to be stashed in a magically sealed jar at the bottom of a filing cabinet guarded by a giant octopus—an ill-considered plan, since octopuses are particularly good at opening jars (this is true). Following a prose opening, Torseter presents the tale in a mix of panels and larger scenes, all drawn as thin-lined cartoons with color highlights. Fred and his clan recall the Moomins; the princesses are all human but too stylized to determine ethnic identity (they are diversely garbed, though); and the troll is a particularly hideous, hulking figure. Come the denouement, off ride Fred and “his” capable but never-named princess to a “more or less” happily-ever-after.
No, the princess doesn’t really get her due—but at least the horse survives. (source note) (Graphic folk tale. 8-11)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-59270-193-3
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
An uplifting, sympathetic portrayal of dyslexia and friendship.
A young dyslexic girl struggles with reading.
Stella Martinez can’t wait to start fifth grade. She and her BFFs, Latasha and Emiko, even get to sit together in Miss Marin’s class. But to Stella’s dismay, school soon feels like “one big reading class.” Even math, one of her favorite subjects besides art, has word problems, and the fifth grade project is a Young Authors Competition. Textbooks have longer words and fewer pictures, making comprehension time-consuming, and Stella falls behind. Even the new online universe for Stella and her friends’ favorite show, Witchlins, requires a guidebook, which Stella has trouble following. As her BFFs and classmates discuss the game, Stella feels left out. Will reading ruin her friendships? Garcia, who based Stella’s story on her daughter’s journey of coming to terms with dyslexia and her own experiences with neurodivergence, introduces a multifaceted protagonist with a learning disability and encouragingly highlights various coping strategies. Adults are warmly supportive, barring a dour, gray-haired, light-skinned librarian whose misconception that graphic novels aren’t “real” books is emphatically dispelled. In keeping with Miss Marin’s affirmation that “all brains work differently,” the book’s clear lettering, decodable text, and expressive art invite readers of all abilities to root for Stella. Stella and her dad and sibling are brown-skinned and cued Latine; Mom is pale-skinned. Latasha presents Black, Emiko is of East Asian descent, and Miss Marin has light-brown skin.
An uplifting, sympathetic portrayal of dyslexia and friendship. (resources, cover design process) (Graphic fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781250840882
Page Count: 208
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
Epic lunacy.
Will extragalactic rats eat the moon?
Can a cybernetic toenail clipper find a worthy purpose in the vast universe? Will the first feline astronaut ever get a slice of pizza? Read on. Reworked from the Live Cartoon series of homespun video shorts released on Instagram in 2020 but retaining that “we’re making this up as we go” quality, the episodic tale begins with the electrifying discovery that our moon is being nibbled away. Off blast one strong, silent, furry hero—“Meow”—and a stowaway robot to our nearest celestial neighbor to hook up with the imperious Queen of the Moon and head toward the dark side, past challenges from pirates on the Sea of Tranquility and a sphinx with a riddle (“It weighs a ton, but floats on air. / It’s bald but has a lot of hair.” The answer? “Meow”). They endure multiple close but frustratingly glancing encounters with pizza and finally deliver the malign, multiheaded Rat King and its toothy armies to a suitable fate. Cue the massive pizza party! Aside from one pirate captain and a general back on Earth, the human and humanoid cast in Harris’ loosely drawn cartoon panels, from the appropriately moon-faced queen on, is light skinned. Merch, music, and the original episodes are available on an associated website.
Epic lunacy. (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-308408-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
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