Solidly spooky fun that will have readers screaming with joy.
A tribute to terror.
Readers who are looking to add a few more ooky-spooky vibes to their lives will be excited to read this petite but potent poetry anthology. Contemporary poets, including Kenn Nesbitt and Richard Jones, share the pages with historical powerhouses like Edgar Allan Poe and Edna St. Vincent Millay. Each of the 12 poems gets its own double-page spread—except for “The Raven,” which needs three double-page spreads to contain it—and all the pages feature bold, expressive artwork. It’s hard to judge if the text or the illustrations are working harder to impress (and scare) readers, and combined they create an impressive poetry collection that will entertain and educate. Many characters, both supernatural and human, are depicted with vibrant skin tones; a group of terrified people gazing at “Mr. Macklin’s Jack O’Lantern” (by David McCord) have bright yellow skin, while a pair of undead creatures are green-skinned. Others appear to be White-presenting, like the narrator of “The Raven” or the protagonist of Walter de la Mare’s “Some One.” Caregivers should expect young readers to wiggle and giggle with horrific glee, and educators and librarians should prepare for this to be a popular choice in the autumn. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Solidly spooky fun that will have readers screaming with joy. (Poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4788-7041-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Reycraft Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
Affecting and hopeful.
A stray dog finds her destiny amid the chaos of a Southern California wildfire.
Wombat is a small dog with stubby legs and “silly ears / that look like furry cookies”—almost impossibly cute in Bricking’s occasional pencil-style vignettes. She’s mastered the art of survival, so when a mysterious internal voice prods her to go toward the fire, she resists. “The wrong way is the right way. / The right way is the wrong way,” the voice insists. When she tells fellow stray Silas about it, he tells Wombat she’s a “destiny dog,” bound to “find their person / before their person / can find them.” Convinced, she decides to follow the mysterious instructions. Meanwhile, Henry, a boy who’s leery of dogs, loves the bats at the wildlife rehabilitation center where Mama Ro, a veterinarian, works; his Mama J is a librarian. Henry and Barnabas, a fruit bat at the center, are both uprooted by the fire, and their paths converge with Wombat’s at an emergency shelter. The third-person perspective shifts from character to character in clusters of free-verse poems that fully immerse readers in each one’s experiences in turn. This extra-concentrated delivery of Applegate’s typically spare writing proves effective, balancing terror and sadness with heart and humor. Henry has light brown skin, Mama Ro has curly black hair and brown skin, and Mama J presents white.
Affecting and hopeful. (Verse fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780063221178
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch.
Basketball-playing twins find challenges to their relationship on and off the court as they cope with changes in their lives.
Josh Bell and his twin, Jordan, aka JB, are stars of their school basketball team. They are also successful students, since their educator mother will stand for nothing else. As the two middle schoolers move to a successful season, readers can see their differences despite the sibling connection. After all, Josh has dreadlocks and is quiet on court, and JB is bald and a trash talker. Their love of the sport comes from their father, who had also excelled in the game, though his championship was achieved overseas. Now, however, he does not have a job and seems to have health problems the parents do not fully divulge to the boys. The twins experience their first major rift when JB is attracted to a new girl in their school, and Josh finds himself without his brother. This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. Most interesting is the family dynamic that informs so much of the narrative, which always reveals, never tells. While Josh relates the story, readers get a full picture of major and minor players. The basketball action provides energy and rhythm for a moving story.
Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch. (Verse fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-10771-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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