A magical tale that teaches that kindness is a superpower in every realm.
A young girl gets lost in the West Virginia woods and meets mythical creatures in Poindexter’s middle-grade fantasy novel.
Phoebe, who’s 10 or 11 years old, is playing with her late Grandpa’s cape among the trees when she meets a goblin who introduces himself as Gnish-Gnash. He explains he’s on a mission to protect the only griffin’s egg in existence. Phoebe doesn’t know what a griffin is, despite her vast knowledge of wildlife, and she soon discovers why: Gnish-Gnash is from another realm called Lerch Hollow, full of different groups of magical creatures who don’t all get along. Lerch Hollow is being terrorized by Lucinda the Dark Mistress, who’s hungry for power, and the griffin’s egg would make her ruler of the realm. While running from a troll named Kobus, who’s followed Gnish-Gnash to the human realm, the goblin takes Phoebe on a magical adventure through Lerch Hollow. Phoebe quickly discovers that although she’s human, she has special powers; in fact, Lucinda was also once human,and, like Phoebe, discovered her powers upon arriving in the realm. (Another human-turned-wizard is Thatcher, Gnish-Gnash’s old friend.) The goblin and Phoebe look for a safe place for the egg, and even free the griffin from satyrs under Lucinda’s rule, but Lucinda is never far behind them. Throughout, Poindexter effectively shows how Phoebe and Gnish-Gnash bring out the best in some of the creatures they meet, turning enemies into friends to help them in their quest. By the time the egg hatches, there’s a small army working together to protect the last griffin. A final battle between Phoebe and Lucinda reveals several key truths to readers. Poindexter has crafted a complex story with many layers, and one that is full of twists and turns. It ably blends an adventure tale with a story that stresses the importance of friendship and family. The prose is exciting and active, and the many characters each have their own unique charms, flaws, and strengths.
A magical tale that teaches that kindness is a superpower in every realm.Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2024
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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