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REBEL IN THE LIBRARY OF EVER

Name: REBEL IN THE LIBRARY OF EVER
Author: Zeno Alexander
ISBN: 978-1-250-16919-8

From the Library of Ever series , Vol. 2

by Zeno Alexander ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2020

Further proof that librarians are mighty in all universes. Any questions?

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An inkling that something has gone “Terribly Wrong” in the cosmic Library prompts Second Apprentice Librarian Lenora to book a return visit.

Almost immediately, 12-year-old Lenora learns to her dismay that the vain, choleric (and oddly familiar, at least to politically aware readers) new Director is firing Librarians wholesale, crowing over fictive “patron fees,” and cutting down the book collections. Stoutly, she ventures back into the endless stacks of the Library of Ever (2019) to confront him—only to discover that he’s just a tantrum-prone pawn of the Forces of Darkness, a trio of slithery agents out to extinguish the light of learning everywhere. Joined by the Director’s naïve but computer-savvy young daughter, Lenora resolutely sets out to stymie the bowler-hatted foes. Along the way, she demonstrates the well-known thrills of reference work by, for instance, responding to a young patron’s query by seeking out the largest meaningful number (pro tip: “infinity” is not a number) and helping a tentacled extraterrestrial archaeologist recover stolen research notes on the mysterious Mississippian culture. (All in a day’s work, as any public-service librarian will attest.) Between the cast of intellectual-freedom fighters and the hissing forces of ignorance, Alexander leaves no doubt about which side to cheer for. Lenora, the Director, and his daughter present white; several other members of the human cast are people of color, indicated by name or description.

Further proof that librarians are mighty in all universes. Any questions? (Fantasy. 9-11)

Pub Date: April 28, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-250-16919-8

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Imprint

Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

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KNIGHTS VS. DINOSAURS

by Matt Phelan ; illustrated by Matt Phelan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 23, 2018

Epic—in plot, not length—and as wise and wonderful as Gerald Morris’ Arthurian exploits.

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Who needs dragons when there are Terrible Lizards to be fought?

Having recklessly boasted to King Arthur and the court that he’d slain 40 dragons, Sir Erec can hardly refuse when Merlin offers him more challenging foes…and so it is that in no time (so to speak), Erec, with bookish Sir Hector, the silent and enigmatic Black Knight, and blustering Sir Bors with his thin but doughty squire, Mel, in tow, are hewing away at fearsome creatures sporting natural armor and weapons every bit as effective as knightly ones. Happily, while all the glorious mashing and bashing leads to awesome feats aplenty—who would suspect that a ravening T. Rex could be decked by a well-placed punch to the jaw?—when the dust settles neither bloodshed nor permanent injury has been dealt to either side. Better yet, not even the stunning revelation that two of the Three Stooges–style bumblers aren’t what they seem (“Anyone else here a girl?”) keeps the questers from developing into a well-knit team capable of repeatedly saving one another’s bacon. Phelan endows the all-white human cast with finely drawn, eloquently expressive faces but otherwise works in a loose, movement-filled style, pitting his clanking crew against an almost nonstop onslaught of toothy monsters in a monochrome mix of single scenes and occasional wordless sequential panels.

Epic—in plot, not length—and as wise and wonderful as Gerald Morris’ Arthurian exploits. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 9-11)

Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-268623-7

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LIBRARY OF UNRULY TREASURES
by Jeanne Birdsall ; illustrated by Matt Phelan

- BOOK REVIEW
BIG CHANGES FOR PLUM!
by Matt Phelan ; illustrated by Matt Phelan

- BOOK REVIEW
TROUBLE FINDS PLUM!
by Matt Phelan ; illustrated by Matt Phelan

- PROFILES
Matt Phelan

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TUCK EVERLASTING

by Natalie Babbitt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1975

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...

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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.

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the first week in August when this takes place to "the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning") help to justify the extravagant early assertion that had the secret about to be revealed been known at the time of the action, the very earth "would have trembled on its axis like a beetle on a pin." (Fantasy. 9-11)