A satisfying sequel to a memorable first book featuring an unprepossessing hero who might just become a household name.
In the second installment of this engaging illustrated series, Fynn (Prince Iggy and the Kingdom of Naysayer, 2013) continues the zany adventures of his apprehensive hero.
News has reached the Rose Kingdom that the rightful heir to the throne has been found, and he’s now on his way to reclaim the crown. But Iggy Rose, the heir, is a small, slightly nervous boy who has just escaped from the school bullies; is he ready to rule a kingdom? The plot of this second book is even more bizarre than the first, with Fynn’s cast of eccentric characters heading for space in a rocket ship. When Iggy finally makes it to the Rose Kingdom—after getting his body back from the sentient Rose Star, which switches bodies with Iggy for a large section of the book—he’s forced to enter the dreaded Tower of Decisions to compete with the evil queen who has usurped his position. The tests he undergoes in the tower—confronting a hungry shark, dancing in front of some judges, battling a blue dragon and coming face to face with his deceased parents—are all tests in which the young boy’s character is examined. The strangeness of the fantasy, especially the obstacles that the hero and his crew must overcome, adds to the excitement, but it is the author’s underlying message that resonates most. If Iggy is to defeat the self-centered, vain queen, he must first conquer the small voice of fear within him. He must learn to let go of the past, to forge boldly ahead and reach his goal. With plenty of inspiring, spirited friends, can he lose? After many grayscale, watercolor-style illustrations, the author’s inconclusive ending suggests that further installments might be on the way—good news for all who’ve enjoyed the first two books.
A satisfying sequel to a memorable first book featuring an unprepossessing hero who might just become a household name.Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 134
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires.
Little Blue Truck feels, well, blue when he delivers valentine after valentine but receives nary a one.
His bed overflowing with cards, Blue sets out to deliver a yellow card with purple polka dots and a shiny purple heart to Hen, one with a shiny fuchsia heart to Pig, a big, shiny, red heart-shaped card to Horse, and so on. With each delivery there is an exchange of Beeps from Blue and the appropriate animal sounds from his friends, Blue’s Beeps always set in blue and the animal’s vocalization in a color that matches the card it receives. But as Blue heads home, his deliveries complete, his headlight eyes are sad and his front bumper droops ever so slightly. Blue is therefore surprised (but readers may not be) when he pulls into his garage to be greeted by all his friends with a shiny blue valentine just for him. In this, Blue’s seventh outing, it’s not just the sturdy protagonist that seems to be wilting. Schertle’s verse, usually reliable, stumbles more than once; stanzas such as “But Valentine’s Day / didn’t seem much fun / when he didn’t get cards / from anyone” will cause hitches during read-alouds. The illustrations, done by Joseph in the style of original series collaborator Jill McElmurry, are pleasant enough, but his compositions often feel stiff and forced.
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-27244-1
Page Count: 20
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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