Future quests for these adventuresome girls are assured—and will be most welcome.
Two girls bond over knights, castles, toys, and real treasure in this series opener inspired by a video game.
Nine-year-old Demelza Penrose and her pet goose, Captain Honkers, live in a little camper on a caravan site owned by her father on Penfurzy Island in Cornwall, England. Demelza’s life is upended when a mysterious girl called Nessa breaks in during a storm. When Demelza finds out that her father needs to sell the camper park due to declining revenues, she and Nessa spring into action to defend the property. Their discovery of Demelza’s deceased mother’s notebook containing clues to the legend of the Penfurzy knights and their lost treasure propels them on a series of hair-raising adventures. Fixing up a couple of old bikes to serve as steeds, the girls embark on a lengthy quest, which takes them to a junkyard in search of the Staff of Truth, up a high tor, and into a sunken castle where they engage in battle with sinister knights and discover a roomful of treasure. A satisfying plot twist ensures a happy ending for Demelza and her father and cements the girls’ friendship. This is a lighthearted, swashbuckling tale in which physical bravery as well as smarts and honesty are rewarded. Expressive cartoon-style black-and-white illustrations dot the pages. Nessa is of Asian Indian descent; Demelza is cued as White.
Future quests for these adventuresome girls are assured—and will be most welcome. (map) (Adventure. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72823-728-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to...
A group of talking farm animals catches wind of the farm owner’s intention to burn the barn (with them in it) for insurance money and hatches a plan to flee.
Bond begins briskly—within the first 10 pages, barn cat Burdock has overheard Dewey Baxter’s nefarious plan, and by Page 17, all of the farm animals have been introduced and Burdock is sharing the terrifying news. Grady, Dewey’s (ever-so-slightly) more principled brother, refuses to go along, but instead of standing his ground, he simply disappears. This leaves the animals to fend for themselves. They do so by relying on their individual strengths and one another. Their talents and personalities match their species, bringing an element of realism to balance the fantasy elements. However, nothing can truly compensate for the bland horror of the premise. Not the growing sense of family among the animals, the serendipitous intervention of an unknown inhabitant of the barn, nor the convenient discovery of an alternate home. Meanwhile, Bond’s black-and-white drawings, justly compared to those of Garth Williams, amplify the sense of dissonance. Charming vignettes and single- and double-page illustrations create a pastoral world into which the threat of large-scale violence comes as a shock.
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to ponder the awkward coincidences that propel the plot. (Animal fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-33217-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
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