A leisurely children’s fantasy with an ecological message.
Two fairies get lost in the Australian Outback in Ritchie’s middle-grade novel, the latest in a series.
Fairies Mica and Wrenna have left Fairy Land (situated somewhere in the Rocky Mountains) on an expedition to Australia to see the famed stromatolites of Shark Bay: “Living fossil rocks. Almost as old as the planet.” Due to the recent destruction of Fairy Land’s Barrier and its transportation portals, the pair are forced to travel by tunnel which, though faster than flying, still takes quite a bit more time than they are used to. They surface in a verdant grassland filled with dragonflies and strange birds, but a rainstorm washes away the entrance to their tunnel, stranding the fairies on this new continent. The two friends set about investigating their environment, figuring out what food they can eat, where they can sleep, and what animals (crocodiles? bandicoots? toads?) they need to be afraid of. They manage to befriend a rainbow-colored bird whom they call BB and, later, a human boy called Ghy. Ghy is an Aboriginal Australian, a “Traditional Owner” of the continent who shares information with the fairies about its six seasons and its millions of years of geological history. With the help of Ghy—and a tribe of Australian fairies—Mica and Wrenna must figure out how to find their way home. Ritchie’s simple prose captures the beauty of the Australian ecosystem: “Wrenna turned back to watch the rain falling, like a waterfall just outside their cave. ‘It’s all alive. It’s all connected. The land, the sky, the storm…all the plants and trees that grow, all the creatures that walk, swim, fly, crawl, even the air itself.’” The book does little to establish the rules of the fairy world, and readers unfamiliar with the previous books may have trouble finding their feet. The plot proceeds at a sleepy pace, though that seems to be the point: Ritchie’s fable of environmental stewardship requires readers to stop long enough to notice the world around them.
A leisurely children’s fantasy with an ecological message.Pub Date: Dec. 31, 2024
ISBN: 9798990818408
Page Count: 216
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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