This well-intentioned offering is ultimately too poorly executed to successfully convey its message of female empowerment.
This attempt at girl power goes very wrong.
When three little girls—Oceana, Kinney and Sammie—find a shiny silver bag in the woods and open it, a puff of smoke escapes and coalesces into the Fairy Teacher Mother Superstar Queen (whose name is Betty). Betty explains that because they have gentle hearts, the girls have been chosen to receive special tiaras that confer on them magic powers, transforming them into Super Duper Power Princess Heroes. Betty also takes the time to explain some rules: The girls must use their powers to help others, they must work together, and they must remain humble. The excited trio soon spots a prince with his leg stuck under a tree. They manage to both rescue him and correct some of his outdated assumptions. Oceana tells him like it is: “[W]e have way more important things to do than marrying you, like saving the world.” Nambiar’s evident desire to create empowered girl characters and turn the traditional rescue story on its head is worthwhile, but it is that agenda that awkwardly takes center stage here. Minus that, readers are left with a haphazard storyline, prose that tries too hard to be cool and fresh, and unappealing illustrations with an amateur, mangalike feel.
This well-intentioned offering is ultimately too poorly executed to successfully convey its message of female empowerment. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9838243-9-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Umiya Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages.
Never underestimate the chaotic fun that magic and an angry bouncing ball can create.
When Frog goes to the library, he borrows a book on magic. He then heads to a nearby park to read up on the skills necessary to becoming “a great magician.” Suddenly, a deflated yellow ball lands with a “Thud!” at his feet. Although he flexes his new magician muscles, Frog’s spells fall as flat as the ball. But when Frog shouts “Phooey!” and kicks the ball away, it inflates to become a big, angry ball. The ball begins to chase Frog, so he seeks shelter in the library—and Frog and ball turn the library’s usual calm into chaos. The cartoon chase crescendos. The ball bounces into the middle of a game of chess, interrupts a puppet show, and crashes into walls and bookcases. Staying just one bounce ahead, Frog runs, hides, grabs a ride on a book cart, and scatters books and papers as he slides across the library furniture before an alligator patron catches the ball and kicks it out the library door. But that’s not the end of the ball….Caple’s tidy panels and pastel-hued cartoons make a surprisingly effective setting for the slapstick, which should have young readers giggling. Simple sentences—often just subject and verb—with lots of repetition propel the action. Frog’s nonsense-word spells (“Poof Wiffle, Bop Bip!”) are both funny and excellent practice in phonetics. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages. (Graphic early reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4341-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
A visual and emotional symphony.
A tiger, with some unusual help, fights off a nightmare.
Tiger’s parents don’t quite believe that the reason she carries extra curry or tacos from the supper table to her bedroom is because she has a monster under her bed, but it’s true. Monster was supposed to scare her long ago, but instead they play together nightly. Then, while Tiger sleeps, Monster scares away Tiger’s horned, multieyed, centipedelike nightmares—until a nightmare with a long-jawed white skull and a changeable, smoky body arrives. It conquers Monster and reaches Tiger. From now on, Tiger and Monster must work together. The plans they implement are brilliant and brave, and their hard-won victory (it takes a few tries) couldn’t be more triumphant, relieving, or empowering. Compositions range from full-bleed spreads to pages holding multiple sequential panels. Using watercolors and pencils, Tetri creates one color-world of inky blues (Monster; nighttime) and another of oranges and yellows (Tiger; daytime). The meanings of each color-world hold nuance and complexity: The nightmares are of the blue world, but so are coziness and small, dear Monster; Tiger’s victory explodes with warm colors like dawn, but she could only achieve it at night. Rich details enhance the setting inconspicuously: Tiger’s parents, also tigers, run a repair shop for flying cars; one parent is Dad while the other is of undesignated gender.
A visual and emotional symphony. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62672-535-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018
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