A spellbound prince and an abducted princess must work together to defeat their enemies.
When a confused witch thinks 13-year-old Prince Telmund is bullying his little brother, she casts a transmogrification spell on him. Every time he falls asleep, he alternates between his human form and an animal form. Meanwhile, 15-year-old Princess Amelia has her own problems. Her parents have decided that it is time for her to be betrothed, solidifying the safety of their kingdom. When Amelia is kidnapped by a neighboring prince and carried away to his kingdom, Telmund comes to her aid, using his rat teeth to gnaw through her bonds. Unfortunately, Amelia is unable to see beyond the surface and dismisses her rescuer with a solid kick. However, whether as a rooster, a goat, or even a dragon, Telmund keeps trying. Amelia refuses to be a victim, relying on her intellect to undermine her captor. The usual model that finds a helpless princess saved by the gallant hero is flipped in this lighthearted exploration of birth order, familial obligations, and friendship. Telmund’s bumbling and Amelia’s annoying superiority make the duo’s escape exciting and realistic. Other than a fairy with silver hair, the only descriptive details point to the white default.
A royal adventure with archetype-shattering characters. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-12151-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fantasy world comes to life and lures its young creators back into it in this imaginative middle-grade debut and U.K. import.
Narrator Arthur always loved playing make-believe in Grandad’s attic with his twin sister, Rose. Years ago they dreamed up Roar, a magical land that they entered via an old fold-up cot that acted as a portal. Now that they are 11 and starting school at Langdon Academy, Rose has new friends and wants nothing to do with her brother or their imaginary world. Rose may be done with Roar, but it’s not finished with her. When their grandfather is kidnapped and taken into Roar, Arthur and Rose must team up to mount a rescue mission. McLachlan does an excellent job of establishing the sibling tension before introducing the fantasy elements, and Rose’s desire to grow up and fit in feels as familiar and accessible as Arthur’s yearning to remain a child. While obviously reminiscent of classic fantasy, this narrative’s sheer inventiveness marks it as distinct. The twins’ widowed grandfather, a larger-than-life jokester from Mauritius, is a Peter Pan–like figure whose abduction brings the narrative into Roar, allowing the text and Mantle’s illustrations to go wild with creativity. The use of a wordless double-page spread to depict Arthur’s arrival into the fantasy realm is particularly inventive. Arthur and Rose are depicted as kids of color.
A sweet adventure and a paean to imagination and childhood innocence. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: June 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-298271-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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