It’s a promising concept but a pallid conclusion.
It rhymes. It has cute crossovers. It has doe-eyed princesses who are unhappy with their lots.
Snow White is tired of cleaning up after seven dwarves, so she takes a walk and discovers the lonely tower of Rapunzel. Rapunzel is all too thrilled to get out, and Snow White wants to be alone, so they switch places. Trailing her impossibly long, blonde locks behind her, Rapunzel meets up with Cinderella, who would rather sleep than go to a ball. Leaving the pumpkin coach to Rapunzel, Cinderella finds Sleeping Beauty’s bed and keels over into it, accidentally kissing the slumberer on the cheek, which wakens her. Bringing the story full circle, the no-longer-sleeping Beauty comes upon the dwarves’ house, where there is Stuff! To! Do! In the end, of course, the princesses sort themselves back out, with Lessons: Snow White gives each dwarf a chore; Rapunzel negotiates a day trip each week; Cinderella opts for college over a prince; and Beauty discovers knitting is less prickly than spinning. Bright colors, strong line, and clearly differentiated hairstyles and clothing do not quite make up for something of a clunker at the end: “So, by talking things through and her problems amending, / each girl truly made her own fairy tale ending.”
It’s a promising concept but a pallid conclusion. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-56564-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
This pleasant tale doesn’t stand out.
Twins Beatrix and Olive and friend Eddie have an adventure with spiders in this early chapter book.
Beatrix, born at the stroke of midnight on a full moon, is a witch, while Olive, born 2 minutes later, is not. Olive and Eddie love science. (This is downplayed: the one bit of text that alludes to science, when Olive tells Beatrix that spiders are not insects because they have eight legs, not six, is cut short by Beatrix, who tells Olive to “stop talking like a teacher”—an unfortunate message.) Beatrix loves to play magical jokes on Eddie and Olive, and they, in turn, hatch a plot to retaliate by dumping spiders on her, since Beatrix is afraid of spiders. Their plan backfires when the spiders get into Beatrix’s growing potion and become giant spiders, forcing them to work together to remedy the situation. Although the story moves along, and the ample illustrations (graphic novel–like with plenty of dialogue bubbles) are lively enough, the story never really sparkles. More actual science information would have been welcome, and a stab at diversity—Eddie is shown as grayish (regrettably the same color as Beatrix’s pet talking pig), compared to Olive’s and Beatrix’s paper-white skin tone—doesn’t really make an impression.
This pleasant tale doesn’t stand out. (activities) (Fantasy. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-81481-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Original art and visually engrossing worlds will have readers visiting this book over and over again
A duo’s blasé afternoon deviates into an unexpected journey crossing dimension and time.
Jane, a red-haired, adventure-seeking girl, and her cautious friend Pablo, an anxious boy with oval-rimmed glasses, have exhausted their array of entertainment options: they’ve played board games, flicked through comic books, dismembered toys. Their boredom produces a trek to the old house on the hill, where they meet Dr. Jules, a talking rat and the architect of a hot air–powered time contraption. A cunning cat, Felinibus, steals pieces from the contraption and tricks the trio into the Monster Dimension. Sabotaged and with a dinner curfew looming, they set out to find the missing pieces. Domingo successfully shifts from comic panels to labyrinthine double-page spreads, from a fast-paced adventure to a focused quest. In pursuit of Felinibus and the stolen pieces, Jane, Pablo, and Dr. Jules dodge danger time and time again as they drift over Lopsided London through Macabre Marrakech, Bone-Chilling Bayou, and other such locales to Immortal India. Filled with alliteration and challenging vocabulary, the story blends adventure, a familiar Where’s Waldo concept, myth, and expedition for a new, clever search-and-find.
Original art and visually engrossing worlds will have readers visiting this book over and over again . (Graphic adventure. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-909263-36-9
Page Count: 57
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
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