Bruno’s elegant, steampunk-ish illustrations elevate the story, but its slow start and overreliance on dei ex machina flaw...
Teeming fantasy trappings largely substitute for internal logic in this meandering tale of a pop-up shop extraordinaire.
Finley McPhee narrates his temporary transformation from a lazy lad in the sleepy Scottish village of Applecross to a modern incarnation of the Irish hero Cuchalainn. Finley’s world begins morphing with the arrival of lovely Aiby Lily and her father. Finley, atoning for truancy by delivering mail for Applecross’ injured postman, discovers the Lilys while carrying a mysterious letter to their not-there-before red house. It’s the magical father and daughter’s turn to open the Enchanted Emporium, which trades in magical objects, powders, potions and spells. (Finley’s witnessing plenty of examples: Aiby uses a Fix-It Spider to repair his broken bike; Aiby’s father travels through the village via Self-Propelling Pants.) Old rivalries unleash evildoers bent on destroying the Emporium, including a mysteriously macabre “Dutchman” and a giant literally unearthed from the ruins of the Lilys’ ancestral castle. Besides Finley, the mythic battle’s unlikely heroes include his annoying brother, Doug, and Meb the dressmaker. A triumphant grand opening draws a thousand international visitors. When the festivities, fireworks and commerce conclude, Meb and Finley each receive a key to the Emporium, their roles in future adventures all but ensured.
Bruno’s elegant, steampunk-ish illustrations elevate the story, but its slow start and overreliance on dei ex machina flaw it. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62370-039-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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
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Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride.
Zipping back and forth in time atop outsized robo–bell bottoms, mad inventor Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) legs his way to center stage in this slightly less-labored continuation of episode 9.
The action commences after a rambling recap and a warning not to laugh or smile on pain of being forced to read Sarah Plain and Tall. Pilkey first sends his peevish protagonist back a short while to save the Earth (destroyed in the previous episode), then on to various prehistoric eras in pursuit of George, Harold and the Captain. It’s all pretty much an excuse for many butt jokes, dashes of off-color humor (“Tippy pressed the button on his Freezy-Beam 4000, causing it to rise from the depths of his Robo-Pants”), a lengthy wordless comic and two tussles in “Flip-o-rama.” Still, the chase kicks off an ice age, the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Big Bang (here the Big “Ka-Bloosh!”). It ends with a harrowing glimpse of what George and Harold would become if they decided to go straight. The author also chucks in a poopy-doo-doo song with musical notation (credited to Albert P. Einstein) and plenty of ink-and-wash cartoon illustrations to crank up the ongoing frenzy.
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-17536-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
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