Growing up and coming out are slightly scary but wonderfully magical in this appealing and optimistic tale.
Finding out she’s a witch isn’t the only revelation Lilla has about her identity while she’s away from home.
Thirteen-year-old Lilla and her older sister, Dani, fly to Italy to spend time with their aunt. For Dani, this means reuniting with the Italian boy she likes, but Lilla feels uncomfortable thinking about boys and love: She has always felt different, but she’s shocked when a mysterious book magically appears and reveals she’s a witch. The book helps her learn to use her new powers and teaches her about supernatural beings. What she doesn’t know is that something dangerous is lurking, and the only way to be safe will be to accept truths about herself and everything that encompasses who she is. This gentle yet somewhat spooky story deftly balances realistic plotlines of sisterhood, growing up, and sexual orientation with fantasy elements of magic and unusual creatures. The Italian setting, with bits of the language peppered in, is richly portrayed. Muted colors fill crisp, unlined panels on white pages that match the soft tone of the story, and minimalistic facial features highlight the characters’ emotions. The magical moments are particularly visually compelling with their glowy light. A hopeful, joyous ending makes this story one to savor. Main characters read as White; the sisters’ aunt’s boyfriend is Black.
Growing up and coming out are slightly scary but wonderfully magical in this appealing and optimistic tale. (Graphic fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: July 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-53884-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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