by Trevor Lai ; illustrated by Trevor Lai ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 24, 2017
Homing in on the delight of discovery, Lai’s second Tomo book encourages readers to get creative when solving problems.
Tomo and his best friend, Maya, use his great-grandfather’s Adventure Journal to solve more problems (Tomo Explores the World, 2016).
As Tomo plots how to fly like a bird, Maya has discovered some unusual bird tracks to investigate. Off they go to their treehouse to see if the Adventure Journal can help them with these mysteries. Though the book has a diagram of a “flying machine” (actually a suit with wings, which may stretch many young readers’ notion of “machine”), it does not have all the information Tomo needs, so he decides to experiment. After Maya suggests he model his wings after a bird’s, they find a map in the Adventure Journal that leads them to a bird sanctuary on their island home. At the sanctuary, they spot the rare boka bird—the source of the mysterious tracks. Observing how the boka flies inspires Tomo to try again. Lai sets his tale in a lushly green fishing community. Background details of Cape Cod–style frame houses combine with such stereotypical elements as clothing style, animal-head medallions, and Tomo’s father’s animal-tooth necklace to give readers a sense of a modern, generic indigenous community. Tomo and Maya have pink skin, black hair, and black, button eyes. But the main event is Tomo’s Leonardo-like excitement in invention.
Homing in on the delight of discovery, Lai’s second Tomo book encourages readers to get creative when solving problems. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-08546-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Imprint
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Trevor Lai ; illustrated by Trevor Lai
by Trevor Lai ; illustrated by Trevor Lai
More by Trevor Lai
BOOK REVIEW
by Trevor Lai ; illustrated by Trevor Lai
BOOK REVIEW
by Trevor Lai ; illustrated by Trevor Lai
BOOK REVIEW
by Trevor Lai ; illustrated by Trevor Lai
by Lori Evert ; illustrated by Per Breiehagen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 2018
For fans of Evert and Breiehagen’s Wish Book series.
Anja and her dog, Birki, do their best to get to a Christmas party in a frozen Nordic landscape.
Anja wishes she had a dog sled to harness Birki to in order to get to the party. The next morning, her cousin Erik appears with his dog sled and an offer to take her there. Lost in a blizzard, they encounter talking wolves who take them to a tent where they can spend the night. A baby polar bear named Tiny appears, separated from his mother. The following day takes them all on an adventure through glaciers and fjords, past an ice castle, and finally to Tiny’s mother and to the party. This digitally produced book is illustrated with photographs that capture the Nordic setting. Unfortunately, the overall effect is weirdly flat, with elements awkwardly set together in images that lack depth. A polar bear perches awkwardly on top of oddly scaled pack ice; Anja and Erik spend a night in the ice castle in niches chiseled into the wall, but they seem oddly disconnected from it. The book has an old-fashioned, European feel; the white, blond children’s red caps and traditional clothing stand out against the dim, bluish winter light. But the wooden, overlong text does little to cultivate the magical fantasy feeling that it’s aiming for.
For fans of Evert and Breiehagen’s Wish Book series. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6566-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Lori Evert
BOOK REVIEW
by Lori Evert ; photographed by Per Breiehagen
BOOK REVIEW
by Lori Evert ; photographed by Per Breiehagen
BOOK REVIEW
by Lori Evert ; illustrated by Per Breiehagen
by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 13, 2015
A chuckle-inducing, entirely worthy stand-alone follow-up to the terrific The Princess in Black (2014).
Princess Magnolia’s perfect birthday party’s threatened by constant monster alarms, summoning her secret identity again and again.
Prim, proper Princess Magnolia is all decked out in her pink finery, awaiting the arrival of a dozen ethnically diverse fellow-princess party guests for her birthday when her monster-alarm ring goes off. She changes attire and personas, becoming the heroic Princess in Black. Working swiftly, she saves a goat from a hungry monster and gets back to her palace in time to welcome her guests. But just when she thinks she’s in the clear and ready to open her presents, off goes her monster-alarm ring again! This pattern—Magnolia is just about to open presents when her alarm goes off, she comes up with a distraction for the princesses, defeats a monster, and returns just in time—continues through the book. It’s enhanced by visual gags, such as Magnolia’s increasingly flustered appearance, and hilarious depictions of the various ways monsters try to eat goats, from between giant pieces of bread to in a giant ice cream cone. A side character, the fittingly named Princess Sneezewort, frequently comes close to discovering Magnolia’s secret. In the end, Magnolia can’t take the constant interruptions anymore, yelling at a monster that it’s her birthday—the monster, abashed, ends up helping her in one last distraction for the other princesses.
A chuckle-inducing, entirely worthy stand-alone follow-up to the terrific The Princess in Black (2014). (Fantasy. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6511-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Shannon Hale ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham
by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham
by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham
More by Shannon Hale
BOOK REVIEW
by Shannon Hale ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham
BOOK REVIEW
by Shannon Hale ; illustrated by Tracy Subisak
BOOK REVIEW
by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale ; illustrated by Asiah Fulmore
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.