An enjoyable tale of intergenerational ingenuity that emphasizes the meaning of family.
A boy vacationing in Georgia fights to save his family’s motel in Campbell’s middle-grade novel.
Twelve-year-old Cooper Knox is spending the summer in Gator Island, Georgia, an aptly named place where his late grandfather owned the Pink Fountain Motel. Renowned for the pink fish that make the waters of its eponymous ornament glow, the motel has fallen into disrepair, and Cooper’s parents are intent upon selling it despite his objections. While they work on returning the business to a saleable condition, Cooper occupies his time with a book club at the local public library. His companions there are all elderly, and his best friend is Vern O’Malley, who begins to act strangely when he hears about the impending sale: “Little do I know this will be the last interaction—the last memory—I have with Mr. O’Malley before he goes missing.” During a big storm the next night, Mr. O’Malley disappears from his boat, and his 12-year-old granddaughter Penny materializes instead, asking for information about his whereabouts. Cooper and Penny team up to find the missing senior using a map he drew in the back of his book club book. With the help of Cooper’s younger sister Daisy, they even cook up a harebrained scheme or two to try to save the motel from falling into the hands of property developers. This is Campbell’s third book, preceded by Robbin’ Around the Christmas Tree (2024), and his first for children. He deftly ties together this story’s plot threads, creating a simple but strong narrative that moves quickly and will keep readers guessing. This novel is perfect for third or fourth graders looking for contemporary realism with a dash of mystery and endearingly quirky characters (lovable know-it-all Penny O’Malley and spooky local seer Madame Mira come to mind). However, the title is just ambiguous enough that it may not easily draw new readers.
An enjoyable tale of intergenerational ingenuity that emphasizes the meaning of family.Pub Date: yesterday
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
