For Stilton readers who prioritize interpersonal relationships and friendship over mysteries and action.
The first book in the graphic-novel spinoff of the Thea Stilton chapter books, themselves spinoffs of the Geronimo Stilton franchise.
It’s a new school year at Whale Island’s Mouseford Academy for the Thea Sisters (not actual siblings but a group of friends centered around Thea Stilton). Written for fans of the Thea Stilton series, the book assumes familiarity with the characters and skips introductions. Two traditions mark the start of a new year—the school dance, which yields a subplot about the girls trying to find dates, and the arrival of whales at the island. But this year, a whale has broken the pattern by arriving early, swimming without the other whales and even attacking fishing boats. It’s up to the Thea Sisters to figure out why the whale is acting strangely and to solve the orca’s problem. The problem is connected to a celebrity cosmetics entrepreneur, a special guest to the school on account of her generous donation and her children’s enrollment as new students. The celebrity has an illegal, secret hobby—collecting sea life. Her hobby leads to a couple of footnotes with ocean-animal facts, though the story is more concerned with entertainment than education. The resolution comes far too easily in a short plot that is lacking in obstacles. Plot limitations notwithstanding, the colorful characters’ revealing body language and expressive faces keep even simple conversation scenes’ illustrations dynamic.
For Stilton readers who prioritize interpersonal relationships and friendship over mysteries and action. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: April 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59707-403-2
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Papercutz
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Folktale purists will be driven looney tunes, but so what if the tone isn’t completely authentic—who doesn’t like to see a...
Not every folktale collection includes the words “BONK BONK BONK,” but they fit perfectly here.
This is the 21st century, and there’s a demographic sampling of readers who’ve grown up watching Warner Brothers cartoons and listening to Native American trickster tales. This book is for them. Looney Tunes fans will appreciate that Coyote falls off a cliff early in the story. Or, if the readers make a different choice, he’s attacked by wasps or eaten by a giant. The choose-your-own-adventure format allows readers to flip a few pages and sample generations’ worth of Coyote tales. (Thomas’ illustrations are somehow both slapstick and archetypal.) The problem, strangely enough, is that there aren’t enough stories here to fill the book. A segment might end with an inspired trick and an escape from Hill Monsters, or it might just peter out. One segment concludes with Coyote joining a pair of beavers for soup. Still, these 64 pages give readers an entertaining and even well-rounded look at Coyote’s personality: the trickster, fool and occasional wise man of tradition. Later books in the series have a more satisfying range of choices: Tricky Rabbit Tales, Tricky Monkey Tales and Tricky Raven Tales.
Folktale purists will be driven looney tunes, but so what if the tone isn’t completely authentic—who doesn’t like to see a coyote fall off a cliff? (Graphic novel. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7613-7859-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Arthur King’s new to Camelot Middle School. He’s hoping he won’t be a total outsider, despite his lack of skill in all sports. He does make friends with fellow students Percy and Wayne, and he befriends a slightly mysterious teacher, Mr. Merlyn. However, Arthur ends up on the bad side (like much of the student body) of evil principal Mrs. Dagger and the dodgeball team-cum-gang of bullies called “the Horde.” After running afoul of Mrs. Dagger one too many times, Arthur and his friends must beat the Horde at dodgeball or they’ll be expelled and Mr. Merlyn will have to quit. Guess what happens. A political cartoonist and the creator of Max Hamm, Fairy Tale Detective, Cammuso has created a big, bright, funny, page-turning first volume of stories very loosely based on the King Arthur stories and laced with other literary references. Young readers will identify with the characters and ask for more. This will appeal to the same crowd that loves the Amelia Rules! series by Jimmy Gownley. (Final art not seen.) (Graphic fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: July 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-439-90322-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2008
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