Standard-issue knockoff, with personal and racial issues presented in mildly provocative ways, some gross bits and a few...
A Web cartoonist and graphic novelist (Monster on the Hill, 2013) climbs aboard the crowded Wimpy Kid bandwagon with this tale of a middle schooler who belongs to a despised minority: He’s a troll.
With lots of telling and rather less showing (at least in the prose), Zarf (“rhymes with ‘barf’ ”) introduces his bridge-dwelling family, nerdy buddies Kevin (porcine scion of the famed Littlepig clan) and Chester, and troll-hating archnemesis Prince Roquefort—pint-sized tyrant of Cotswin Middle School. Zarf wryly recounts his various misadventures in a mix of prose and, on every page, one to two cartoon line illustrations with added dialogue or punch lines. These occur on the way to rescuing Roquefort’s much more lovable royal father from a tasty marinade bath prepared by a colony of 7-foot-tall Snuffweasels and then facing a huge if, as it turns out, somewhat wimpy dragon. These and other challenges help Zarf get a handle on the berserker rage issues that haunt him and afflict his kind. Depicted with droopy pointed ears, a wild shock of hair and, often, a disgruntled expression, he makes an adequate stand-in for outsiders of any stripe.
Standard-issue knockoff, with personal and racial issues presented in mildly provocative ways, some gross bits and a few amusingly tweaked folk-tale tropes. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 10-12)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8037-4103-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
A page-turner that gives the heroic Stonekeepers plenty of chances to show their stuff and moves the main story along an...
Wraithlike attackers force a mass evacuation and a cryptic prophecy’s meaning begins to clear in this headlong continuation of Kibuishi’s deservedly popular series.
The action picks up in midflight as Navin and companions survive the destruction of their giant robot suits, then help the fleeing survivors of the city of Lucien by fighting a rear-guard action against swarms of diaphanous, cat-eyed, zombie-making Dark Scouts. Meanwhile Emily, Trellis and Vigo reluctantly join traitorous elf Max Griffin in another visit to the Voice’s realm of memories that leads to the death of a major character—along with a rescue, reunions with old friends and a lead-in to the next episode. Though the ongoing plotlines and large cast make familiarity with earlier outings a necessity, this one still features a crowd-pleasing blend of lively dialogue (“And I don’t care what the prophecies say. You’re still a slacker”), easy-to-follow, nonstop action, elves, robots and derring-do amid awesome sound effects (“D-DOOOM SHHAAAAAA,” “SZRAK!”). Most of the cleanly drawn, lushly backgrounded panels focus on faces, with occasional full-spread scenes adding dramatic visual highlights.
A page-turner that gives the heroic Stonekeepers plenty of chances to show their stuff and moves the main story along an inch or two. (Graphic fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-43315-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
Unable to pay the bills simply forecasting weather, three young people decide to sell weather itself, 50 pence the sunbeam, with predictable results. Using magic tokens, the Summer sisters Melissa and Patricia—plus little brother Arthur, whom they dub an honorary sister—actually predict the weather with perfect accuracy, but since the pounds just aren’t rolling in, the three turn to an overdue library book and dance up barrels full of rain clouds and sunny days to dispense. Disaster ensues, as first a vacation-ruining cloud gets in with the sunbeams, and then when Arthur accidentally snuffs out the sun. Supported by a cast of stock eccentrics and bemused parents, the sisters make a lively, contentious team, posing with disheveled grace in Kenyon’s small, frequent black-and- white ink drawings. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-531-30080-3
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1998
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