Another brief but winsome adventure.
An intrepid inventor must rescue her father from malevolent forces.
In her workshop, free of the problems plaguing the Core, which powers the rest of Tykotech City, Juniper Mae couldn’t be happier. She has her grandfather, her dad, and her friends Albie (a froglike creature) and BOT-L (an automaton) all in one place, and her own independent energy source to power her inventions. But when villainous President Onyx catches wind of Juniper’s energy solution, he orchestrates a kidnapping of her father, mistakenly assuming he must be the one with the knowledge to fix the power cuts that have been impacting the city. Whisked away to an underground lab, Mr. Mae pretends to re-create Juniper’s energy source to keep her from danger. Meanwhile, Juniper and Grandpa, along with Grandpa’s newly spiffed-up combination recliner/motorized scooter, race to find Mr. Mae before President Onyx realizes what’s really going on. As in previous installments, the cute, bubbly art style, manga-flavored emotional expressions, and pleasant palette with many glowing elements continue are engaging and exciting. With no wasted words or space, this short but action-packed series entry makes dynamic use of panels; readers of Luke Pearson’s Hilda books or Tim Probert’s Lightfall series will be delighted. Main characters have light tan skin; supporting characters vary in skin tone.
Another brief but winsome adventure. (Graphic science fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781838741716
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
Eeney meeney miney moe, catch this series before it goes! (Adventure. 7-9)
Two kids get up close and personal with some great works of art in this first in a new series.
Tiger Brooks is used to his little sister’s fantastical stories. So when the top-hatted orange pig she describes turns out to be not only real, but a next-door neighbor, Tiger enlists the help of his kooky new friend, Luna, to investigate. It turns out the pig works for the reclusive painter Viola Dots. Years ago a magical picture frame swallowed up her only son, and she’s searched for him in artworks ever since. When Tiger’s tinkering starts the magic up again, he and Luna are sucked into a reproduction of Henri Rousseau’s Surprised! or Tiger in a Tropical Storm, hungry predator and all. After meeting and failing to rescue Viola’s son in this adventure, the series is set up for the intrepid pair to infiltrate other classic paintings in the future. Backmatter provides information on the real Rousseau and his life. Oliver keeps the plot itself snappy and peppy. While there are few surprises, there’s also an impressive lack of lag time. This is helped in no small part by Kallis’ art, which goes from pen-and-ink drawings to full-blown color images once the kids cross over into the painting. Tiger is a white boy, and Luna is a dark-haired Latina.
Eeney meeney miney moe, catch this series before it goes! (Adventure. 7-9)Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-448-48087-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
When evil, oversized alien rabbits land at Dingdale Elementary chool (the “S” has fallen off the sign so often that custodian Fuzzy Dustin refuses to fix it any more), it’s up to young Hercules Smith and his slobbery pooch Sheldon to save the Earth—or at least the student body—from being transformed into carrots. Luckily (or maybe not), a pair of the titular Wuv Bunnies, heavily armed with kisses and truly toxic jokes, arrive from the Outers Pace Galaxy to help out. Elliott and Long milk this premise for all it’s worth, dishing up a Captain Underpants–style mix of text and wild cartoons—the former well-stocked with authorial asides, the latter filled with big-toothed bunnies sporting antennae and high-fiving each other after each gag. Capped by a gratuitous barrage of extra jokes (“What did the duck say when she bought some lipstick? Just put it on my bill. HA! HA! HA! HA!”), this is all perfectly pitched to its audience and guaranteed to garner groans from the grown-ups. (Fantasy. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8234-1902-9
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2008
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