Another technological watershed—crossed first by a mouse.
A note on an old scrap of paper leads two intrepid mice to sunken treasure.
As in Kuhlmann’s Armstrong (2016) and Lindbergh (2014), the journey turns out to be at least as rewarding as the prize. Inspired by a generations-old family story, young Pete enlists the help of a pipe-smoking professor at the University of Mice—first to search old records for the location of a certain ocean liner that had sunk in the mid-Atlantic, and then to invent a submarine that will allow them to explore the wreck. “We need to approach the problem scientifically,” says the professor…and so begins a laborious, sometimes-dangerous process of trial and error, of study and experiment. In the pictures, which are rendered with terrific attention to fine detail in equally arresting monochrome and sepia-toned color, mice scamper through human-sized archival files, design a fishlike submarine that takes shape rivet by rivet, then dive past swirling shoals of fish and an immense whale. The minuscule divers emerge in antique-looking gear to enter a shadowy wreck, examine a spill of outsized coins and other wrack, then carry a small chest back to their craft. That chest contains not gold but a diary with diagrams that connect Pete’s ancestor with one of the greatest human inventors of all. The author closes with nods to both Thomas Edison and to several earlier experimenters with claims to the first light bulb.
Another technological watershed—crossed first by a mouse. (Fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4322-6
Page Count: 112
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale.
After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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