A kids’ tale with enjoyably eccentric visuals and a message of civility and forgiveness.
Bullies meet their very polite match in this quirky new picture book for young readers.
Author and illustrator Helms (Who’s New, 2016, etc.) returns to Ponderville, the setting of her previous children’s books for early readers—a strange, whimsical place where the inhabitants impart messages of friendship. This time around, the happy Ponderville residents are alerted to the imminent arrival of a quartet of “noisy, rowdy, greedy, rough and wild” Polygonsters—depicted as jagged, two-dimensional shapes with cranky faces. Readers are shown what happened the last time the bullying Polygonsters were in town: they trampled the garden, raided the Tea House, and overturned shelves and scattered books at the library. What will Ponderville do this time? One disgruntled character urges his friends to give the Polygonsters a taste of their own medicine (“we will be mean…we will be rude”). His fellow villagers have a different idea. First, they ensure that the Polygonsters will have no access to the places where they wreaked havoc before by simply shutting doors and posting “closed” signs. Then they disarm the invaders with politeness and generosity, greeting them with gifts of books, flowers, and tasty Tea House goodies. This does the trick, and the marauders trundle home with their presents. This book offers a gentle lesson in conflict resolution, although more jaded adults may wonder if the Polygonsters have actually hit upon a lucrative protection racket. Helms’ illustrations mix bright colors and ample white space, and they’re complemented by interesting placements of text that include dialogue in comic-strip–style balloons. The humorous sound effects (“glurp,” “hoo-wah”) invite repetition, and numerous typefaces and the author’s effective use of margins will keep readers’ interest high. Overall, the offbeat world of Helms’ imagination offers pleasant lessons wrapped up in visual and verbal fun.
A kids’ tale with enjoyably eccentric visuals and a message of civility and forgiveness.Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9963397-3-5
Page Count: 50
Publisher: Set Free Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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