Thought-provoking.
Two siblings with mysterious origins fall under the spell of trickster Reynard in this trilogy closer.
Ever since Sally and her brother, Faolan, emerged from the Forest and entered the Land 10 years ago, the homesteaders who took them in have called Faolan “wolf-boy.” Sensitive to change and uncomfortable with eye contact, Faolan is prone to meltdowns; Sally, believing he’s just doing whatever he wants, resents having to care for him. The homestead is barricaded against wolves, and strangers don’t enter—until Reynard, in human form, arrives. Sally doesn’t remember where she and Faolan came from, and the manipulative fox promises to tell her in exchange for information about the "shapes," benevolent figures who help the homestead prosper. As Reynard commands the shapes to do his bidding and sends the homestead into chaos, Faolan’s visits to Reynard make him a scapegoat, and the homestead Elders exile the siblings. But when Faolan runs away with a wolf pack, Sally must ally with Reynard to find him. Third-person chapters alternate between Sally’s and Faolan’s perspectives, effectively demonstrating Faolan’s loneliness and Sally’s misunderstanding of Faolan’s cued neurodivergence. Helpfully, Reynard’s stories recap the events of the previous books, and Tromop’s black-and-white illustrations effectively convey the rural atmosphere and characters’ emotions. Unfortunately, this tale feels somewhat muddled toward the end: A late twist abruptly introduces an abstract concept, and Sally’s resentment of Faolan isn’t squarely addressed. Most characters present white.
Thought-provoking. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: April 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781915071620
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Little Island
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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
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