A smart, funny, iconoclastic take on an old classic.
The well-known legend is brought to life once more by one of the U.K.'s most famed comics.
Everyone knows the story of the Pied Piper, and it would be an easy cash-in for any celebrity to regurgitate the tale and wait for the money to come rolling in. Thankfully Brand refuses to take the easy way out. He attacks his first children's book with full force, coloring the story in with humorous asides, witty turns of phrase and a few choice nuggets of sage wisdom. Illustrator Riddell is just as sharp, filling the book with eye-popping illustrations and beautiful coloring. Brand's biting humor isn't toned down in the slightest; there's a superabundance of potty humor, and he closely treads the line between tasteful and tasteless. He includes Snicket-ian jokes about the powers of the author and the purpose of storytelling that will surely fly over a few children's heads, at least the first time through. More important is Brand's treatment of the buffoons and bullies that occupy Hamelin: His takes on religion, sexism, consumerism and self-esteem are just as important to the text as the classic tale it’s based on. His opinions are as easy to discern as many a conservative pundit’s, though very much on the other side of the political spectrum.
A smart, funny, iconoclastic take on an old classic. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4767-9189-0
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
Turncoat former member of National Espionage Rescue & Defense Society (aka NERDS) Simon (once known as “Choppers”), who can hypnotize with his enormous buckteeth, craves revenge against his erstwhile teammates, enhanced fifth graders whose weaknesses have become superstrengths. Simon recruits Albert Nesbit, a 37-year-old mama’s boy and computer genius, to create a machine that will control all computers. When Albert zaps the NERDS team, the nanobytes in their bodies that give them their superskills go haywire. Most members rely on their training to continue their spy work, but Duncan “Gluestick” Dewey is in crisis (and requires several “man up” talks from various bosses and cohorts). Can the NERDS (especially Duncan) save the world by defeating Simon, Albert and, most frightening of all, Albert’s overprotective mother? Peppered with lessons on cracking codes, ciphers and invisible ink, the second adventure in Buckley’s silly spy-kids spoof is as frenetically goofy as the first. Beaver’s illustrations and Chad W. Beckerman’s art direction make for a terrific package for reluctant readers or book lovers out for thrills, gadgets and larfs. (Adventure. 8-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8109-8986-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
McCaughrean maintains the dizzyingly high standards of The Golden Hoard (1996) and its sequels with this thematic collection of sky myths and legends. Associated with cultures as diverse as Ancient Rome and the Cook Islands, the 15 tales explain, among other things, rainbows, thunder, falling stars, the origin of night, and why the sun and moon live far apart. Whether love stories, tragedies, accounts of heroic deeds or trickster tales, all are likely to be new to young readers, even those as widely told as “Orion’s Downfall” and the Chinese “Bridge of Magpies.” McCaughrean retells them with characteristic vigor: “With sulfur from the hot springs, with magma from the volcanoes, [the gods] fashioned a foe to send against Orion: an insect that wore its skeleton on the outside for armor, a creature the color of rage and venom . . .” Williams’s indistinct, ordinary-looking figures seldom capture the tales’ drama, and while McCaughrean closes with comments on each story, there are no specific source notes. Still, this extends the scope of such Native American gatherings as Gretchen Mayo’s Star Tales (1987), and readers will be captivated by the range of visions here. (Folktales. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83015-7
Page Count: 112
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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