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CONNECTING THE STARS

Vibrant illustrations and simple poetry converge into a great introduction to mythology and astronomy.

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Stevenson’s lushly illustrated children’s book tells the constellations’ stories.

In short, catchy rhyming couplets, Stevenson shares the tales of the constellations based on Greek myths of gods, heroes, and monsters—like that of Corvus, named after Apollo’s punishment of the crow of bad tidings; Pavo conjures Hera’s peacock with spying eyes littered throughout its feathers; and Hydra evokes the myth of Heracles’ slaying of the sea serpent—as well as other triumphs and tragedies written in the stars. (“Not only did this horse have wings, / but he created magic springs!”) Maris’ illustrations bring these stories to life in a cool palette of mostly blues, violets, and greens, a perfect contrast to the book’s use of bright yellows and soft whites to draw out the stars. This is not to say the book is overly dark. Jupiter and the little fox Vulpecula are rendered in bright orange, and the Phoenixes fly in a fiery and bright-pink glow, never obscuring their celestial patterns. Maps of the actual constellations are laid over the figures they represent, so readers might recognize them in the night sky if they know where to look. Each constellation contains a compass within the illustration with a “hidden” direction that indicates the constellation’s hemisphere and gives kids another way to engage with the work. The children stargazing are depicted diversely, each of a different race or culture. The entries balance astronomy and poetic storytelling, from the unrivaled size of the Hydra (“the largest in the sky”) to the existence of the Phoenix in Egyptian legend as well. Kids who like magical creatures and monsters will find a few here, though parents worried about frightening or inappropriate imagery given the nature of Greek mythology have nothing to fear. Cerebus is depicted as a three-headed purple puppy, while the reasons for Hera’s jealousy concerning Zeus are kept child friendly.

Vibrant illustrations and simple poetry converge into a great introduction to mythology and astronomy.

Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022

ISBN: 9780648872399

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Ethicool Books

Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023

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IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES

From the Impossible Creatures series , Vol. 1

An epic fantasy with timeless themes and unforgettable characters.

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Two young people save the world and all the magic in it in this series opener.

When tall, dark-haired, white-skinned Christopher Forrester goes to stay with his grandfather in Scotland, he ventures to the top of a forbidden hill and discovers astonishing magical creatures. His grandfather explains that Christopher’s family are guardians of the “way through” to the Archipelago, where the Glimourie Tree grows—the source of glimourie, or the world’s magic. Black-haired, olive-skinned Mal Arvorian, a girl from the Archipelago, is being pursued by a murderer, and she asks Christopher for help, launching them both on a wild, dangerous journey to discover why the glimourie is disappearing and how to stop it. Together with a part-nereid woman, a ratatoska, a dragon, and a Berserker, they face an odyssey of dangerous tasks to find the Immortal, the only one who can reverse the draining of magic. Like Lyra and Will from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, Mal and Christopher sacrifice their innocence for experience, meeting every challenge with depthless courage until they finally reach the maze at the heart of it all. Rundell throws myriad obstacles in her characters’ way, but she gives them tools both tangible (a casapasaran, which always points the way home, and the glamry blade, which cuts through anything) and intangible (the desire “to protect something worth protecting” and an “insistence that the world is worth loving”). Final art not seen.

An epic fantasy with timeless themes and unforgettable characters. (map, bestiary) (Fantasy. 10-16)

Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024

ISBN: 9780593809860

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 30, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024

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THE WILD ROBOT

From the Wild Robot series , Vol. 1

Thought-provoking and charming.

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A sophisticated robot—with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell—is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500.

When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment—not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different “accent”). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz’s growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell’s The Animal Family. At every moment Roz’s actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz’s benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions—and readers—with hope.

Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)

Pub Date: April 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-316-38199-4

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016

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