This delightful adventure inspired by Gulliver’s Travels will appeal to budding fantasy readers—and position them for the...
A pocket-sized but fiery heroine proves that brains always beat brawn, even in the streets of London.
After enduring ridicule back home in London for his stories about the tiny citizens of Lilliput, Gulliver is intent on proving that his travels there actually occurred. He returns to the island and plucks young Lily right off the beach to act as living proof. Imprisoned by Gulliver for six months (or half her life), Lily is determined to return home before it’s too late. Gulliver keeps her trapped in a bird cage hanging from a ceiling in a musty attic above a clockmaker’s store, but Lily perseveres with her numerous escape plans. After failing for the 33rd time, she loses all hope of seeing her grandmother again. However, the clockmaker’s apprentice, Finn, discovers the note she tied to a mouse’s tail from Escape Plan 21 and rescues her from Gulliver. Finn and Lily’s new friends, Mr. Ozinda, a chocolatier who speaks only in rhyme, and his parrot, Señor Chitchat, offer comic relief as they come to her aid. Young readers will adore Lily’s grouchiness yet relate to her compassion for those less fortunate. Sporadic pencil-and-watercolor illustrations offer a hint of Lily’s fiery temper but mostly serve to break up the text.
This delightful adventure inspired by Gulliver’s Travels will appeal to budding fantasy readers—and position them for the source material later on. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-56145-806-6
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
An effort as insubstantial as any spirit.
Eleven-year-old Maria Russo helps her charlatan mother hoodwink customers, but Maria has a spirited secret.
Maria’s mother, the psychic Madame Destine, cons widows out of their valuables with the assistance of their apartment building’s super, Mr. Fox. Madame Destine home-schools Maria, and because Destine is afraid of unwanted attention, she forbids Maria from talking to others. Maria is allowed to go to the library, where new librarian Ms. Madigan takes an interest in Maria that may cause her trouble. Meanwhile, Sebastian, Maria’s new upstairs neighbor, would like to be friends. All this interaction makes it hard for Maria to keep her secret: that she is visited by Edward, a spirit who tells her the actual secrets of Madame Destine’s clients via spirit writing. When Edward urges Maria to help Mrs. Fisher, Madame Destine’s most recent mark, Maria must overcome her shyness and her fear of her mother—helping Mrs. Fisher may be the key to the mysterious past Maria uncovers and a brighter future. Alas, picture-book–creator Ford’s middle-grade debut is a muddled, melodramatic mystery with something of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink feel: In addition to the premise, there’s a tragically dead father, a mysterious family tree, and the Beat poets. Sluggish pacing; stilted, unrealistic dialogue; cartoonishly stock characters; and unattractive, flat illustrations make this one to miss. Maria and Sebastian are both depicted with brown skin, hers lighter than his; the other principals appear to be white.
An effort as insubstantial as any spirit. (author’s note) (Paranormal mystery. 7-10)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-20567-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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