What do you get when you mix Robin Hood with Peter Pan, and throw in a dash of The Lord of the Flies? You get a new, original, tall tale from folkmeister Kimmel (Gershon’s Monster: A Story for the Jewish New Year, 2000, etc.). Found as an infant cradled in the arms of a giant octopus, Robin is raised to be a pirate by the notorious James Hook. The passage of years proves that Robin is just too nice to be a pirate, and he is cast away on a desert island, where he learns the language of the animals and takes charge of a group of similarly marooned children. In their trusty craft, the Sandpiper, and aided by the birds and animals, they crusade to thwart the region’s pirates. While some of the individual conceits work nicely—the children “put itching powder in Blackbeard’s beard, and they erased the ‘X’ on Captain Flint’s treasure map so that he would never find the buried treasure”—the text never overcomes one of the basic problems inherent in so many pirate stories: the pirates are simply more interesting than Robin, who comes across as something of a namby-pamby. Dooling’s (The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin, p. 119, etc.) capable oils fall victim to this syndrome as well, reveling in depictions of pirates in all their roguery but giving short shrift to the goody-goody Robin. (Young mariners will also wonder how the Sandpiper, which seems to be constructed of seaweed and sticks, manages to stay afloat.) There’s lots of mischief and fun here, but its hero simply can’t measure up to its villains. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-590-68199-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
As Captain Awesome would say, this kid is “MI-TEE!” (Fiction. 5-8)
The town of Sunnyview got a little bit safer when 8-year-old Eugene McGillicudy moved in.
Just like his comic-book mentor, Super Dude, Eugene, aka Captain Awesome, is on a one-man mission is to save the world from supervillains, like the nefarious “Queen Stinkypants from Planet Baby.” Just as Eugene suspected, plenty of new supervillains await him at Sunnyview Elementary. Are Meredith Mooney and the mind-reading Ms. Beasley secretly working together to try and force Eugene to reveal his secret identity? Will Principal Brick Foot succeed in throwing Captain Awesome into the “Dungeon of Detention?” Fortunately, Eugene isn’t forced to go it alone. Charlie Thomas Jones, fellow comic-book lover and Super Dude fan, stands ready and willing to help. When the class hamster goes missing, Captain Awesome must don his cape and, with the help of his new best friend, ride to the rescue. Kirby’s funny and engaging third-person narration and O’Connor’s hilarious illustrations make the book easily accessible and enormously appealing, particularly to readers who have recently graduated to chapter books. But it is the quirky, mischievous Eugene that really makes this book special. His energy and humor are contagious, and his dogged commitment to his superhero alter ego is enough to make anyone a believer.
As Captain Awesome would say, this kid is “MI-TEE!” (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: April 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4090-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
A cheery story that “wool” likely evoke some smiles.
A “baa”-nd of pirates gets the wool pulled over their eyes.
After a treasure-hunting foray, Captain Hoof and his crew of fleecy sheep are homeward bound with a glittery bounty—the lost Golden Shears, which once belonged to the infamous Woolly Jones. Suddenly, huge waves engulf and smash their ship. They’re sheepwrecked and stranded on Foggy Island, home to none other than Woolly Jones. After nearly a month of failed attempts to get off the island, Captain Hoof decides to return the shears to their rightful owner. Trekking across the island through fog as thick and impenetrable as wool, captain and crew eventually bump into their nemesis, who snatches the shears from the captain’s hooves. Expecting dire consequences, everyone starts to flee, but things turn out wool, er, well. In a 90-degree book turn, Woolly is depicted using the shears to give himself a much-needed “woolcut.” He’s grateful for the shears—and for the company after a long, lonely spell. Captain Hoof and crew are delighted at this outcome. This is a cute tale, though the plot is a bit thin; the numerous, amusing sheep puns will appeal more to grown-ups than kids. But the digital illustrations are comical and dynamic, and the all-ovine protagonists are lively and expressive. The book contains lots of typographical creativity, including some onomatopoeic words, incorporated into the artwork, and maps in the endpapers include islands bearing funny, aptly punny names.
A cheery story that “wool” likely evoke some smiles. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: July 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780593569665
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
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