Like Kidd’s faithful crew, readers should follow this battle-tested pirate (with the insecurities and loyalties of a...
A pirate adventure story—rife with ghosts, Native American legends, ancient curses, hidden treasure, and a bogeyman—features a dog-loving boy on a mission.
Fair warning to the squeamish: Winkelstein’s (Brisko: A True Tale of Holocaust Survival, 2014, etc.) middle-grade novel, as narrated by an escaped slave known as the Black Doctor, “is not a soft one.” Death is a constant, gruesome companion, appropriate for a tale of vengeance and its repercussions. Set in 1745, Capt. William Kidd III is a 14-year-old pirate who has marked a course for the Devil—a beastly bogeyman plaguing southern New Jersey—who killed his pappy. Accompanied by a steadfast poodle named Black Dog, Kidd and his devoted crew know the journey will be dangerous, but when the Adventure Galley runs aground in the Batsto River, a terrible fate befalls them. During the turmoil, the Devil kidnaps the pirate’s beloved poodle (Kidd “remembered Black Dog’s howl and those disfigured, mutant feet that had carried her away”). Stranded in the Pine Barrens, Kidd changes his objective from revenge to rescue. The Black Doctor saves the pirate from a squirmworthy fate and offers guidance for unlocking mysteries in the teen’s past. When British soldiers capture Kidd, Tilda McKenzie, a tough local girl who looks cute and kicks butt, helps him escape, leading him toward his father’s hidden treasure. The pirate dialogue (“ ‘That’s the trouble o’ landlubbers!’ cried Bone. ‘Too trustin’!’ ”) feels authentic and immersive, with just a few missteps (“ ‘Ew, Black Dog,’ Kidd said. ‘Gross’ ”). A variety of subplots—the Devil’s back story, Kidd’s parentage, a budding romance, Native American legends, magical treasure, ghostly visitations, even a trip to “Fiddler’s Green”—jumbles the narrative. Although the climax brings all the elements together, the result stretches suspension of disbelief to the limit. Not helping are dei ex machina additions that provide convenient but unnecessary plot devices; Kidd is engaging enough without superpowers. Nonetheless, pages turn quickly in this tightly woven, action-packed tale with unusual twists, real heart, and a surprising conclusion that promises even more wondrous escapades to come.
Like Kidd’s faithful crew, readers should follow this battle-tested pirate (with the insecurities and loyalties of a teenager) to strange and exciting destinations.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9824498-7-5
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Mystic Waters Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In her first children's book, Parton (the country music star) turns one of her songs into a saccharine tale about a girl who is so poor that her mama has to sew her a patchwork coat when the weather turns cold. (Joseph and his coat of many colors are mentioned but never explained.) Despite the girl's love for her coat, she is teased in school, which she counters by trying to explain to her classmates ``that one is only poor/if they choose to be.'' The logic here is as flawed as the grammar, and Sutton's illustrations, while competent, show a well-dressed, happy rural family who look anything but poor. The text is both clumsy and irrelevent (it ends with ``Through life I've remained happy/and good luck is on my side./I have everything that anyone/could ever want from life.'') An apparently autobiographical song that has a hard time standing on its own as a compelling children's story. (Picture book. All ages)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1994
ISBN: 0-06-023413-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
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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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