Those who only remember Pinocchio as the untruthful boy in the Disney film may be surprised by this different character. But...
What happens after Pinocchio becomes a real boy?
In Carter’s fanciful sequel, though people think the gift of life is Geppetto’s doing, it actually belongs to the boy. But Pino’s talent for carving and animating lifelike images brings him and his father nothing but trouble. Followed by the wife-and-mother puppet Pino creates, whom even fire cannot destroy, they run away from desperate and threatening neighbors and embark on a series of adventures and escapes. Everywhere, they are besieged by people who want what Geppetto has, the dead apparently brought to life. And throughout, Pino is gradually turning back into wood, perhaps because of his use of his gift. As in Collodi’s original story, the moral is explicit. For the 19th-century author, happiness came from being well-behaved. For today’s readers, it becomes acceptance of one’s difference, being “true to yourself.” The moral seems to be tacked on to an otherwise entertaining series of discrete adventures that are good for reading aloud. Each chapter ends on a suspenseful note, leading readers on, but the resolution disappoints.
Those who only remember Pinocchio as the untruthful boy in the Disney film may be surprised by this different character. But for readers already familiar with the original, this is an interesting exercise. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2751-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
Deeply moving and tender.
Mo Gallagher’s life is upended when her beloved grandmother dies and she is thrust into foster care.
Nan had been her loving guardian, raising her in a New York City apartment that she must now leave. Her uncle is unwilling to assume her care, but he gives her a notebook with a letter to her from Nan on the first page. Hoping to remain connected in some mystical way, 11-year-old White girl Mo fills the notebook with frank letters to her grandmother, hoping for signs that she is being heard. But in the rest of her life, she withholds critical feelings and information, even avoiding telling Crystal Wang, her Chinese American best friend, the truth. The chance discovery of a homemade cookbook leads to a brilliant recipe project with her own website (recipes are also shared throughout the book). Her caring caseworker and her therapist help Mo deal with changes, especially as her uneasy relationship with her foster parents leads to a devastating surprise. Fortunately, Crystal remains a stalwart, loving ally, and Mo develops special relationships with a variety of supportive new friends. Mo is confused, feisty, frightened, sometimes self-destructive, intensely needy, and loving—and she has a bigger heart and is stronger than she thinks. Readers will laugh, cry, and embrace Mo completely as they rejoice at the wonderful twist that leads to a happy new beginning for her. The New York City setting is well integrated into the story.
Deeply moving and tender. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-984893-87-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
A sensitive, moving debut.
When 11-year-old Eric Harper begins caring for an injured unicorn, his life is changed by the choices he makes, the relationships he forms, and the secrets he uncovers.
Eric lives with his family on land that has belonged to Harpers for generations and shares a special bond with his grandmother. One day, Eric spies what he thinks is a white deer but quickly realizes is a white unicorn. Filled with the “most amazing feeling of comfort and happiness and excitement,” Eric follows the lame unicorn to the farmhouse his ailing grandmother recently sold to Dr. Brancusi, a veterinarian, and her daughter, Allegra. (All three characters appear to be white.) Dr. Brancusi senses Eric’s concern and asks him to help her treat the unicorn. Discovering the unicorn is pregnant with twins, Dr. Brancusi warns Eric they must keep her hidden until the babies are born and hires him to assist. Eric’s affinity to the unicorn deepens, and when she’s threatened and runs away, he frantically searches. In the end, although Eric experiences loss, he gains a special family connection. Despite the presence of supernatural creatures, Eric’s quiet, genuine, first-person voice tells a realistic story of family love and discovering one’s true self, the presence of the unicorn and other magical creatures adding just a touch of whimsy to a story about very real emotions, revealed in Green’s black-and-white illustrations.
A sensitive, moving debut. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: July 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-76112-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
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