A charming book that repackages an uncommon story.
Aguirre-Magaña’s chapter book for young readers retells a Mexican fairy tale about a Purépecha king who finds a magical girl in a grapefruit.
Long ago in Michoacán in western Mexico, an Indigenous king goes on a hunt that takes him through a grapefruit orchard. He cuts open a fruit, and a young girl appears who’s “graced by the god, Kuerójperi, creator of all things.” The king believes that she’d be a great blessing on his rule if she would marry his son when she grows up, but the Enchanted Girl is accustomed to living in her grapefruit. However, the ruler offers her bread, water, and clothing to prove that he can provide for her needs. On their way to the palace, the Enchanted Girl meets a servant indebted to an evil witch and convinces her to tag along with her and the king. Later, the two girls don’t receive a warm welcome, as others who are vying for the prince’s hand are uninterested in befriending either of them. However, the Enchanted Girl and Arameni both become good friends with Prince Irepan. Soon, though, Arameni’s previous mistress spots her at a celebration and demands the girl work for her again to pay off her family’s debts; she also ropes a jilted suitor into a plan to stop the Enchanted Girl’s upcoming nuptials. Over the course of this short book, Aguirre-Magaña tells her story using the traditional omniscient narration style of folktales, and it offers an engaging primer on aspects of Mexican folklore for members of a young audience who may be unfamiliar with them. It presents all the usual, familiar trappings of a fairy tale, including royalty, magic, curses, and evil witches. At times, readers may find some of the prose to be overly simple, but it’s suitable for its intended audience.
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2021
ISBN: 9781956751031
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Yo Cuento Cuentos
Review Posted Online: July 2, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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