Wild exaggeration sure to please action-loving middle-grade readers.
Pursued by an outlaw band of sewer-dwelling “ninjas,” 11-year-old Samantha Spinner searches around the world for her missing uncle.
When Uncle Paul vanished from their Seattle home, he left outlandish presents: $2.4 billion for Samantha’s shopaholic older sister; the New York Yankees and their stadium for her imprudent younger brother; a jeweled collar for the dog; and, for Samantha, an old umbrella. Far from being a second-rate present, the umbrella conceals a map to a network of secret passages to places all over the world. A treasure, for sure, but will it lead Samantha to her lost uncle? Complicating things, the aforementioned outlaws from the sewer want their map back. Will they succeed? This series opener offers a winning mix of fast-paced action, fascinating facts, bathroom humor, and hidden puzzles. The characters have distinct personality traits but no physical descriptions, pointing to a white default. Samantha, her brother, Nipper, and their pug, Dennis, journey to Paris, France; Florence, Italy; and Edfu, Egypt—Samantha searching for her uncle, Nipper looking for treasure, and Dennis seeking snacks. Journal entries describing famous places such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Temple of Horus as well as their secret entryways interrupt the action. Further entries on Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China suggest adventures to come. Puzzle clues are sprinkled throughout; explanations and answers are in the back.
Wild exaggeration sure to please action-loving middle-grade readers. (Adventure. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-2000-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This oblique homage to a now-creaky classic is lit by friendships, heroic feats, and exceptional art.
A long-eared young hero takes on a witch bent on trapping rare legendary creatures in a magical book.
Not so much a pastiche of E. Nesbit’s short story “Book of Beasts” as an original novel with cribbed elements, this adventuresome outing regathers and expands the animal cast of DiTerlizzi’s 2008 reworking of The Reluctant Dragon (titled Kenny & the Dragon) for a fresh challenge. As if coping with a dozen baby sisters and tending the bookshop of his questing mentor, Sir George E. Badger, aren’t hard enough, Kenny Rabbit feels abandoned by his best friend, dessert-loving dragon Grahame—who happily recognizes the supposedly mythical manticore that springs from the pages of a grimoire as an acquaintance from olden days. Avid to collect magical creatures of all sorts, the book’s owner, sinister opossum Eldritch Nesbit, tempts Kenny into an ill-considered bargain. But once he sees not only the manticore, but Grahame too snapped up, Kenny joins allies, notably his redoubtable crush Charlotte the squirrel, in a rumbustious rescue that also frees a host of unicorns and other long-vanished marvels. Aside from the odd griffin or al-mi’raj (a horned rabbit from Persian lore and an outlier in an otherwise Eurocentric cast), everyone in the lively, accomplished illustrations, from Kenny’s impossibly adorable sibs on, sports amusingly anthropomorphic dress and body language.
This oblique homage to a now-creaky classic is lit by friendships, heroic feats, and exceptional art. (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4169-8316-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A moving exploration of the places we come from and the people who shape us—not to be missed.
On a birthday trip to New York City, a girl learns about her roots, Harlem, and how to stay true to herself.
Eleven-year-old sneakerhead Amara is struggling to feel seen and heard. A new baby sister is on the way, her mom still wants to put her in dresses, and that birthday trip from the Portland, Oregon, suburbs to New York City that she so desperately wants feels out of reach. When Amara gets a family-history assignment, she is finally able to convince her mom to say yes to the trip, since it will allow Amara to meet her dad’s side of the family in person. In addition to the school project, her mom gives Amara a secret mission: get her dad and grandpa to spend time alone together to repair old wounds. Harlem proves unlike any place Amara has ever been, and as she explores where her father grew up she experiences black history on every street. Watson is a master at character development, with New York City and especially Harlem playing central roles. Through her all-black cast she seamlessly explores issues of identity, self, and family acceptance. Although the ending feels rushed, with no resolution between Amara and her mom, Amara’s concluding poem is powerful.
A moving exploration of the places we come from and the people who shape us—not to be missed. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68119-108-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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