Action, sea creatures, and a mermaid make this thoughtful adventure a delight.
Fourth grader Soraya’s idol is comic-book hero Nimbla Moony. Her mom wants her to make real friends, but her classmates think she’s weird because of the things she says (often inspired by Nimbla Moony’s adventures). During a field trip to the aquarium, Soraya wanders off and is surprised to spot a human face amid the coral in the Ocean Journey exhibit. Even more shocking is when the face turns out to belong to a mermaid named Estelle, asking for help. Accidentally captured by fishing nets, Estelle needs Soraya’s help getting back to her ocean kingdom. With the help of the aquarium animals, Soraya must be brave like Nimbla Moony and get Estelle out of the crowded building without anyone seeing her. In the process, Soraya and Estelle discover they have an astonishing amount in common despite their dissimilarities. Alikhan pens a sweet story of a forming friendship and how there are positives to being different. Themes of an absent parent and selflessness are also present. Sohrabi’s bright, colorful, full-page illustrations are sprinkled through the 10 short chapters, with Soraya’s comic about the adventure, illustrated by Naalchigar, at the end. Soraya has pale skin and straight, black hair, and she explains her name is Persian. Estelle has brown skin, long, curly black hair, and dark eyes.
Action, sea creatures, and a mermaid make this thoughtful adventure a delight. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4788-6815-6
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Reycraft Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Good-hearted fun—great for fans of Kit Feeny and Babymouse.
It’s a Bigfeet family reunion!
Everyone’s favorite frosty, furry cryptid, the yeti, actually has a name: Blizz Richards. From his supersecret HQ in Nepal he keeps in touch with his fellow cryptids, all of whom have sworn an oath to keep themselves hidden. That’s not always easy, especially when there are cryptozoologists, like the nasty (but bumbling) George Vanquist, who are always trying to expose the secretive creatures. Vanquist got a picture of Blizz’s cousin Brian near his home in British Columbia, causing the mortified Brian to disappear entirely. When Blizz receives an invitation to a Bigfeet family reunion in Canada, he calls his buddies Alexander (one of Santa’s elves), Gunthar (a goblin) and Frank the Arctic fox to help him get ready. When they arrive in Canada, Brian is still nowhere to be seen. Can Blizz and his skunk ape and other sasquatch cousins find Brian, have the reunion and evade Vanquist? If anyone can, the Bigfeet clan can. Illustrator Sherry’s first volume in the Yeti Files is a fast and funny graphic-prose tale full of labeled pictures and comic-style panels. Those just starting chapter books may have some trouble with a few big words, but they’ll enjoy the big friendly monsters and immediately ask for the next tale—which looks to be about the Loch Ness monster.
Good-hearted fun—great for fans of Kit Feeny and Babymouse. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-55617-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Despite missteps, this satisfying follow-up will leave readers hoping for more magical adventures with lovable Jax and...
Jaxon and his friends deal with the fallout from the theft of one of the baby dragons in his charge.
As this sequel to Dragons in a Bag (2018) opens, Kavita, the titular dragon thief, introduces elderly Aunty to stolen baby dragon Mo. Thankfully, Aunty knows someone in Queens who can help return Mo to the realm of magic. Meanwhile, and in alternating first-person chapters, Jax is trying to find Kavi and Mo, as Mo’s siblings have grown ill as a result of the separation, as has Ma, Jax’s magical mentor and grandmother figure. Jax again teams up with his best friend and Kavi’s older brother, Vik. A third is added to their crew with “huge” Kenny, “the biggest kid in [their] class.” (Unfortunately, much is made of Kenny’s size, which feels gratuitous and unkind.) Eventually the trio finds Kavi, Aunty, and Mo, who’ve been abducted by a magical con artist. All’s well that ends well when Sis, the powerful guardian of the magic realm, shows up, but readers may wonder why the narrative decides to grapple with her choice not to intervene in injustice in our world. Her argument that human-caused problems are for humans to solve feels undeveloped, especially in the face of a massive injustice like the trans-Atlantic slave trade (mentioned during the climax and at no other point). Jax is black; Vik, Kavi, and Aunty are Indian American (though Aunty has African ancestry as well); and Kenny is white. The rest of the cast is diverse as well.
Despite missteps, this satisfying follow-up will leave readers hoping for more magical adventures with lovable Jax and company. (Urban fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-7049-5
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
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