Despite its conventionality, young fantasy fans will likely enjoy this novel and take away lessons about different cultures.
A 10-year-old boy from another planet time-travels around Earth as he tries to track down his missing parents.
The novel opens with Orion Spence awakening after his airship crashes in Antarctica and he can’t find his parents. It’s an enticing beginning that slowly unveils the true circumstances of Orion’s situation. He and his parents come from the island of Patalosh on the planet Lumina. They learned to journey through time and have settled on Earth, allowing Orion to make friends across countries and centuries as they navigate the globe on the HMS Exploricus airship. What sounds like an adventurous life comes with a few problems: First, Orion is a “Non,” which means he doesn’t have any magic powers, unlike most of his fellow Taloshians. Second, the evil Emperor Daaggerd is holding Orion’s parents hostage, since they are the keepers of a book that contains all the good and evil spells in existence. It’s up to Orion, a Taloshian named Sir Karotene, a penguin and other friends they pick up along the way to trek to each of the seven continents and solve puzzles so they can retrieve keys to unlock the book before the Emperor can find them. Then he must locate and rescue his parents. It’s a well-trod good-vs.-evil plot, with numerous conventions from series like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, so readers can sense what’s coming. The writing is a little flat but easy for young readers to follow. It’s a quick read for fans of adventure—the time- and world-traveling components add a fun touch. The authors are also concerned with exercise and nutrition, which adds another educational aspect to the text.
Despite its conventionality, young fantasy fans will likely enjoy this novel and take away lessons about different cultures.Pub Date: Feb. 29, 2012
ISBN: 978-1463521332
Page Count: 326
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 10, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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