An environmental tale with appealing animal characters, an action-packed plot, and striking illustrations.
With magical and human help, sea creatures spread the word about ocean pollution in this book for children and tweens.
Guided by a majestic Sea Spirit, a pelican and his marine mammal friends team up with concerned humans to send a universal message about the devastating effects of pollution on the world’s oceans. Avoiding preachiness with a mix of humor, lively animal characters, and empathy, this thoughtful work opens with a cliffhanger as young skateboarding champions Sky Ryder and Silk are swept off a jetty by monster waves after a visit to the Ocean World Marine Mammal Entertainment Park. Their fate remains unknown for several chapters as the narrative flashes back to Ocean World several months before. There, pelican Duster, his sea lion friend Jaxx, and an orphaned gray whale named Nikki make a plan to help three injured newcomers—Rio the orca, Bubba the beluga whale, and baby sea otter Patches—escape Ocean World’s veterinary hospital and find their families. (The creatures’ injuries were all caused by ocean pollution: Plastic damaged Duster’s beak; fishing wire scarred Jaxx; Rio, sick from pollutants, was hit by a boat; Bubba got tangled in fishing netting; and Patches lost fur to burning tar.) Following a daring escape by the six animals, Ryder and Silk encounter the mystical Sea Spirit and return to the plot. Now, the humans and animals are tasked with communicating to the world the need to take action against the pollution threatening “The Source”: “All of the oceans, seas, and waterways around the world that feed all life.” Helped by a sympathetic reporter, the Sea Spirit’s playful sister, and social media–savvy children, Duster and his friends overcome fraught challenges to get the word out (and Ocean World shifts its mission from entertainment to cetacean sanctuary). Royse ends with a comprehensive list of websites for readers to explore ocean conservation, aquatic life, recycling, and pollution facts. The illustrations by prolific children’s book artists Gershman and Chang are beautifully rendered in pencil and alive with realistic details, from the animal and diverse human characters and the sea dragon–like Sea Spirit and her sister to the poignant, fact-based images of the toll human pollution takes on ocean life.
An environmental tale with appealing animal characters, an action-packed plot, and striking illustrations.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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