An engaging mix of adventure, anguish, and renewed hope for animal lovers.
A sweet pit bull mix recounts losing his home and family during a hurricane in this sequel.
From the moment he first rides home in the arms of his “boy” (named Gavin), the little brindle-patterned puppy learns to love and trust the humans in his life. But the canine signals early in the novel that heartbreak lies ahead. Describing Gavin’s touch, he says: “Over our years together, I trusted those hands. Even when I learned to hate the boy, I loved his hands.” It will take weeks for Gavin to select a name for his new best friend. Then, one summer day, while the boy dozes by a Louisiana fishing creek, an alligator creeps on shore and is about to attack. Gavin is awakened in the nick of time by his puppy’s fierce barking. He names the pooch Gator. Before their first year together is over, Gavin, his friend Jeremy, and Gator discover a filthy, illegal puppy mill in the woods. In one of the cages, Gator spots a small female canine who will win his lifetime love and devotion: “My eyes settled on one golden-red fur ball in an end cage nearest us.” In a hair-raising, action-packed scene, a man from the kennel discovers Gator and tries to kill him until the boys fight him off. Law enforcement agents raid the kennel, and the little dog who has lived her whole life in a cage is named Magnolia and joins Gator and his family. Life is good for several years until an unnamed hurricane hits and the levee breaks. When Gavin and his parents are finally rescued by boat, they are forced to leave Gator and Magnolia behind. This absorbing and moving canine tale should appeal to a middle-grade and YA audience. Cute black-and-white drawings by Lester introduce each chapter. Through Gator’s emotional voice, Weber deftly captures the deep trauma experienced by the many pets displaced by natural disasters in an era when people were not allowed to bring their furry companions into shelters with them. And the poignant lessons Gator learns during his painful journey deliver the narrative’s implicit, positive messages: forgive and keep an open mind about others.
An engaging mix of adventure, anguish, and renewed hope for animal lovers.Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9966612-6-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Pups and Purrs Press
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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