Ending with a school concert, a wedding and a sense of accomplishment for Daisy, all equally lovely, it will leave readers...
Lily knows her little sister Daisy is a witch.
No one else does, except for Lily’s best friend Vivaldi, and, of course, the Sisters of Hiss (Chin, Nose and Toad), who made Daisy a witch in her cradle. Daisy is currently fighting the idea of toilet training (“ ‘Not dunna poo,’ Daisy lies”) and given to wandering off at night to wreak little witchy havoc. The Sisters of Hiss contemplate finally taking Daisy back, in hilarious alternating chapters, but they want her toilet-trained first. Lily and Daisy’s school is preparing for the musical pageant, in which Lily will play her grandpa’s bagpipes and Daisy will be a monkey. The 400-plus-year-old Hisses face various challenges, most notably when a little girl named Yoshito decides Chin is a fairy godmother and her father is quite smitten. Gliori’s humor, as always in this series, is much concerned with the kind of adorable grossness common to small children, but she also uses typeface changes and completely wacky footnotes to great effect. The pictures are dazzling in their elegant daffiness, like the disembodied hands Daisy thinks will come out of the toilet if she sits on it. Visual and verbal nods to Sendak, Tolkien and others of the canon will delight. It reads aloud gloriously, but it will also be easily digested by daring chapter-book readers with its small page size and clear layout.
Ending with a school concert, a wedding and a sense of accomplishment for Daisy, all equally lovely, it will leave readers wondering how much trouble Daisy can make in the next installment. (Humorous fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-552-55679-8
Page Count: 330
Publisher: Corgi Children’s Books/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2011
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
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
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