When Frankie falls down a rabbit hole, Abby; her nemesis, Penny; and her good friend Robin all follow.
Although they don’t find Frankie immediately, they soon recognize their surroundings. There’s something familiar about them: “The hole we fell down. The hallway with locked doors. The garden outside. The potion that says DRINK ME.” Usually in the Whatever After series, Abby enters the familiar world of fairy tales with her little brother, Jonah. She knows what should happen even though the two always change the courses of the stories. Now she finds herself in a book world, and she doesn’t want to admit to the other girls, especially Penny, that she has never read it. To make matters worse, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of the few books Penny says she’s read. Soon the girls discover that she never read the whole book, and she balks at every opportunity to participate in the fun. Frankie is pictured as a person of color on the back of the book and described as having dark skin. The others girls are white, with different hair colors (and personalities) to distinguish them. When they catch up with Frankie at the tea party, she is totally into the adventure. She is the real bookworm of the group, and she’s read Alice and its sequel many times.
Readers who have followed the series will have a leg up, but other book lovers and fantasists will find some kindred souls here. (follow-up games and activities) (Fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-74664-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 2, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION
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After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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