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KITTY AND THE MOONLIGHT RESCUE

From the Kitty series , Vol. 1

A sweet series opener, especially for the cat lovers in the chapter-book set.

Kitty uses her feline superpowers in this new series.

Kitty, a young girl, wants to be just like her superhero mother, who goes out at night to help people. Unfortunately, Kitty doesn’t feel brave and is afraid of the darkness outside. With her mother gone one night, Kitty puts on her superhero costume. While she is playing pretend, a frantic cat, Figaro, jumps in through her window, looking for Kitty’s mom. Mistaken for a real superhero, Kitty is drawn into an adventure to uncover the mysterious noise coming from the clock tower. With her magic superpowers heightened by the moon, Kitty faces her biggest fear, makes new cat friends, and discovers her own inner superhero. Harrison writes an amusing story of bravery and self-confidence, encouraging newly independent readers with Mom’s words: “Don’t let fear hold you back. You’re braver than you think.” Løvlie sets an incredible scene with her dramatic black-and-white illustrations on almost every page. Multiple pages are entirely black with white text and drawings, immersing the readers in this nighttime story. Included are character introductions and super facts about cats. Kitty, her mom, and her younger brother all have pale skin and straight, black hair; her dad’s hair is lighter.

A sweet series opener, especially for the cat lovers in the chapter-book set. (Fantasy. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-06-293472-7

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019

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THE WONKY DONKEY

Hee haw.

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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.

In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.

Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: May 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1

Page Count: 26

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018

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FLY GUY PRESENTS: SHARKS

From the Fly Guy series

A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.

Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.

Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)

A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)

Pub Date: May 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013

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