An unfortunate mishmash of trivialized folktale, cutesy self-help and earnest advice. The author and illustrator take “Amazons” as a descriptor for heroic warrior-women from several cultures, and their methodology for encouraging girls to be Amazons includes such deep thoughts as “dare to dream” and “listen to your heart.” The tales, which include “Queen of the Amazons,” “Dragon Girl” (from China) “Durga Demon-Slayer” and “Hand of Glory” (from England), are written in a breezy style (“Captain Hercules”?) very much at odds with the blood, thunder and mystery of the stories. A page on making “Amazon accessories” includes such tidbits as, “customize a belt using a glue-gun, glitter and sequins.” An “Amazon spell” based, it says, on a sixth-century hymn to Durga, is on a page of (unidentified) yoga poses. Herxheimer’s illustrations are indeed dramatic and colorful, reveling in the gore of cutting off seven dragon heads as well as the jewels of the Egyptian warrior-princess Al-Datma. The tales are potent, but the package is not. (notes on stories, bibliography, glossary) (Folktales. 7-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-84507-660-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2009
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after.
Drake has been selected by the king to serve as a Dragon Master, quite a change for an 8-year-old farmer boy.
The dragons are a secret, and the reason King Roland has them is a mystery, but what is clear is that the Dragon Stone has identified Drake as one of the rare few children who have a special connection with dragons and the ability to serve as a trainer. Drake’s dragon is a long brown creature with, at first, no particular talents that Drake can identify. He calls the dragon Worm. It isn’t long before Drake begins to realize he has a very strong connection with Worm and can share what seem to be his dragon’s thoughts. After one of the other Dragon Masters decides to illicitly take the dragons outside, disaster strikes. The cave they are passing through collapses, blocking the passageway, and then Worm’s special talent becomes evident. The first of a new series of early chapter books, this entry is sure to attract fans. Brief chapters, large print, lots of action, attractive illustrations in every spread, including a maplike panorama, an enviable protagonist—who wouldn’t want to be a Dragon Master?—all combine to make an entertaining read.
With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-64624-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pilkey is still having entirely too much fun with this popular series, which continues to careen along with nary a whiff of...
Trying to salvage failing grades, George and Harold use their handy 3-D Hypno Ring on termagant teacher Ms. Ribble—and succeed only in creating a supervillain with a medusa-like ’do and a yen to conquer the world with wedgie power.
Using a pair of robot sidekicks and plenty of spray starch, she even overcomes Captain Underpants. Is it curtains (or rather, wedgies) for all of us? Can the redoubtable fourth graders rescue the Waistband Warrior (a.k.a. Principal Krupp) and find a way to save the day? Well, duh. Not, of course, without an epic battle waged in low-budget Flip-O-Rama, plus no fewer than three homemade comics, including an “Origin of Captain Underpants” in which we learn that his home planet of Underpantyworld was destroyed by the . . . wait for it . . . “Starch Ship Enterprize.” As in the previous four episodes, neither the pace nor the funky humor (“Diapers and toilets and poop . . . oh my!”) lets up for a moment. Pilkey is still having entirely too much fun with this popular series, which continues to careen along with nary a whiff of staleness. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-439-04999-7
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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