A fun, illuminating tale with a wonderfully zippy cast.
During a trip to Egypt, two American siblings learn about an unfamiliar culture and stumble upon mummies in Pangburn and Shearer’s middle-grade graphic novel.
Eleven-year-old Nan and her little brother, Otto, are joining their travel-blogging mother on her latest voyage, whether they like it or not. Otto certainly doesn’t, as the last-minute trip forces him to leave his beloved art camp early. But Nan, an aspiring travel blogger herself, is excited to witness Egypt’s beauty and learn its history. The kids explore on their own, although Nan finds it hard to enjoy the experience when her brother runs off without her. As it happens, Otto is chasing after Princess Tiaa, a mummified cat who sprints outside her pyramid, and away from the cat’s human mummy owner. It turns out that only Otto can see the mummies, who are invisible to Nan; however, he needs Nan’s help sneaking back into the pyramid at night with the cat, where they deal with unexpected turns of events. Authors Pangburn and Shearer, who are siblings, present this story from dual perspectives; readers of the print copy must flip the book over for the second half. Otto opens the narrative, and he’s a mostly endearing boy—even when he’s whining—who craves adventure but shirks responsibility. The mummy-free, Nan-centric half, while less exhilarating, enriches the character of the dependable sister, as readers learn why a bracelet is so important to her and witness moments when she understandably tunes out her grumbling brother. There’s relatively little overlap between the two stories, as the siblings are separated for a time. However, humor abounds, as when Otto converses with a seemingly empty sarcophagus in Nan’s story, and there are copious educational tidbits on ancient and contemporary Egyptians. Touris’ cartoon-style art bursts with color during Egypt’s amber-tinted days and blue-gray nights. Illustration highlights include pages of Otto’s own ongoing comic-book project featuring Cat Knight and Dogwoman, and Nan’s journal of photos and sketches.
A fun, illuminating tale with a wonderfully zippy cast.Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781545809280
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Papercutz
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
