An appealing combination of animal magic and low-key hero fantasy.
A hungry fox and a girl with a lively personality wield magic together.
Events unfold from the viewpoint of the narrator, a fox named Shadow who lives near the shore of Lake Superior. Food is scarce, she’s thin and has patchy fur, and the loss of her sister some months before is constantly on her mind. Shadow steals shoes from rooms at a nearby motel—she has 257 piled in her den—and distrusts all humans except for one. But Nan, the white-haired woman from the motel who used to feed her, is inexplicably gone; a red-haired girl is there instead. Bee, Nan’s granddaughter, is a bit wild and out of step with others herself. To Shadow’s initial annoyance, she and Bee forge a bond that turns out to be deep and magical; indeed, Bee can understand and give human voice to Shadow’s thoughts. Meanwhile, the island of Whistlenorth, accessed through a portal on Lake Superior, is the site of imminent (and foretold) devastation—and Bee and Shadow must attempt to thwart the danger. The Night Islanders’ greedy and indiscriminate reaping of the environment to distill “ultra-concentrated magic” has laid waste to much of what grows in the magical islands and threatens Minnesota’s forests. As Shadow navigates the dangerous territories of trust and power, the fox has a compelling voice that’s prickly, proud, and subtly funny. The book convincingly depicts a singular brand of northern, woodsy, wild magic.
An appealing combination of animal magic and low-key hero fantasy. (Fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9781536228960
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Walker US/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
File under “laugh riot.”
A rogue spell-check program’s bid to transform all life-forms into that eminently useful office item, the paper clip, touches off a fresh round of lunar lunacy.
Predicated on the entirely reasonable premise that eliminating all spelling and grammar errors everywhere would logically lead to the necessity of exterminating carbon-based life in the universe, this third series entry combines high stakes with daffy banter and daring exploits. CheckMate—a chipper, jumped-up editing program—has invented the Transmogratron, a giant laser that will fulfill its ultimate goals in both the cyber world and “meatspace.” Facing challenges as random as prankster lunar unicorns and a disarmingly motherly Motherboard, scowling First Cat joins a motley crew of diversely carbon- and silicon-based allies, led by the pearlescent Queen of the Moon. They’re in a race to the finish—diverted occasionally by, for instance, a relentlessly punny comic-book interlude featuring a pair of literal and figurative Pool Sharks. They ultimately triumph thanks to teamwork and moxie. Following a celebratory party and toasts to “new friends…and steadfast comrades” (and, of course, “MEOW”), the story’s energetic, brightly colored panels close with a reveal of the next volume. (“I always hate it when comics end by announcing a sequel. SO CRINGE!” declares an authorial stand-in.) It can’t come too soon.
File under “laugh riot.” (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780063315280
Page Count: 272
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale.
After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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