A humorous, suspenseful twist on the vampire tale for young readers who don’t mind horror.
Friendly neighborhood dogs become vampires in this fun but gruesome middle-grade story.
The second installment in Woolworth’s (The Kindness of Strangers, 2012) series about Winnie, a paralyzed corgi, gives readers a tale from a dog’s point of view. Winnie and her friend, a wolf named Parsi, communicate via a software program called DOGSPEAK, which was introduced in the series’ first book (but helpfully explained in an afterword here). The story begins with an animal rights activist breaking into DuPont Experimental Station and stealing a test tube carrier containing an experimental material called Phyto 710. The burglar falls and releases the chemical into the Brandywine River, where it later infects a bat. This sets into motion an epidemic of bats biting dogs, turning them into “Dogpyres.” One affected neighborhood dog, Nigel, sinks his sharp canines into Winnie’s stomach when she wanders out of her yard one day. Fortunately, Parsi is immune to the syndrome and rescues Winnie. Parsi’s “primary,” or owner, Paulette Espin, is the chemist who invented Phyto 710, so when the dogs start changing, she’s able to figure out what’s happening with the help of Winnie’s owners and other scientists. In order to track down the source of the infection, though, they need Parsi to go on a dangerous mission. This wacky story seems aimed at older children, and ends on an upbeat note. The book breaks its fast-moving plot into short, snappy chapters with titles sketched in a blood-red typeface, and colorful drawings by Carol Tippit Woolworth illuminate key details, such as Parsi’s protective K-9 suit. However, its frequent use of undefined technical terms such as “phytohemagglutinins” and “macrophage” may confuse readers, and the doggie narration sometimes becomes repetitive. Some grotesque elements, such as dismembered baby bats and a dog falling down a well and breaking his neck, may disturb squeamish readers.
A humorous, suspenseful twist on the vampire tale for young readers who don’t mind horror.Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9852645-2-9
Page Count: 72
Publisher: TipWorth Press
Review Posted Online: March 7, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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