A spirited tale of high-seas adventure that will leave readers both young and old anxiously waiting for more.
Young midshipman Jonathan Moore is back and ready for more swashbuckling in the second installment of Greene’s (Skull Eye Island, 2012) nautically themed YA series.
In 1801, after capturing the French 74-gun ship Danielle, Jonathan and his crew return to London as triumphant victors. Waiting for him at the docks is his long-lost father, who’s been gone for years. Their reunion is joyous yet short-lived. Jonathan is soon itching to return to sea, and when the new crew of the Danielle is called to leave for the Bahamian coast, his father, a captain, reluctantly allows him to sail. What should be an easy four-month cruise turns into something more complicated when Capt. William Walker, Jonathan’s commander, realizes he has the opportunity to turn the tides of war. Chock-full of adventurous fun, the novel follows the crew as they navigate their way through various tricky situations. Greene seamlessly weaves together several dynamic storylines—pirates, a stowaway, attempted murder and the dreaded French Navy—creating a rich, complex world for readers to enjoy. Each thread is well-developed and works to further the story to a thrilling, fiery climax. Though peppered with interesting facts on British Navy life in the early 1800s, the narrative never feels weighed down with extraneous trivia or overly technical jargon. It’s driven by an eclectic, well-drawn cast of characters, from the salty ship’s cook to the hot-tempered captain to resourceful Jonathan. Also joining the crew is the irrepressible stowaway Miss Delain Dowdeswell, whose spunk and wit will appeal to young female readers. Delain, Jonathan and his quirky best friend, Sean Flagon, form a wonderful trio whose escapades—including a thrilling assault on a fleet of French ships—will leave readers hooked.
A spirited tale of high-seas adventure that will leave readers both young and old anxiously waiting for more.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-1480203457
Page Count: 374
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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