An engaging tale of a girl’s discovery of her power and calling.
Buvaraghan, Riya Sanjay, and Eesha Sanjay present an illustrated middle-grade story of an Indonesian girl who must avert a natural disaster.
On Indonesia’s Flores Island, there’s a volcano called Kelimutu. When Aisha was born, it erupted and destroyed Moni, her hometown. A wise magician prophesied that it would happen again on Aisha’s 10th birthday in 1956—now one week away. Aisha’s mother, Zaha, is a healer who received her powers when she and her mother, Dewi, rescued a woman’s baby; the grateful woman gave them a magical amethyst pendant—much to her older son’s chagrin. Aisha’s younger sister, Liya, also has healing powers, but Aisha, so far, has no magic. Aisha dreams that she has a mission to return four gems to the crown of the statue of Garuda, a golden eagle deity, to save Moni from another disaster. On her birthday, Aisha takes Liya to explore Kelimutu and the nearby lakes, and Aisha discovers that she, too, has powers when she touches a clear lake, turning it green, and then retrieves an emerald from it. Members of a nomadic tribe, the Bajau people, visit Moni; Dewi doesn’t trust them, but Zaha tells her daughters to ignore their grandmother’s prejudice. Soon, Zaha’s amethyst goes missing, and Dewi’s house is robbed; finally, the Garuda statue is stolen from its secret place. The mystery that leads to a quest, during which Aisha discovers her powers and wins the townsfolk’s love and respect. Amid this novel’s mystery and magic, details about Indonesian culture and tradition emerge against a beautiful island setting: “The island scenery varied from low-land savannah to volcanic rainforest. Red-flowered flame trees between the palms made the view spectacular.” The loving relationship between three generations of female healers—grandmother, mother, and daughters—is shown to be warm and nurturing, yet also nuanced: Aisha is revealed to be a bit jealous of her younger sister, and Zaha disapproves of her mother’s suspicions. A few pages feature exquisite illustrations of the characters and settings in vivid color, credited to JV Graphic Designing.
An engaging tale of a girl’s discovery of her power and calling.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-63755-938-3
Page Count: 177
Publisher: Mascot Kids
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Thought-provoking and charming.
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
SEEN & HEARD
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face.
Four misunderstood villains endeavor to turn over a new leaf…or a new rap sheet in Blabey's frenzied romp.
As readers open the first page of this early chapter book, Mr. Wolf is right there to greet them, bemoaning his reputation. "Just because I've got BIG POINTY TEETH and RAZOR-SHARP CLAWS and I occasionally like to dress up like an OLD LADY, that doesn't mean… / … I'm a BAD GUY." To prove this very fact, Mr. Wolf enlists three equally slandered friends into the Good Guys Club: Mr. Snake (aka the Chicken Swallower), Mr. Piranha (aka the Butt Biter), and Mr. Shark (aka Jaws). After some convincing from Mr. Wolf, the foursome sets off determined to un-smirch their names (and reluctantly curbing their appetites). Although these predators find that not everyone is ready to be at the receiving end of their helpful efforts, they use all their Bad Guy know-how to manage a few hilarious good deeds. Blabey has hit the proverbial nail on the head, kissed it full on the mouth, and handed it a stick of Acme dynamite. With illustrations that startle in their manic comedy and deadpan direct address and with a narrative that follows four endearingly sardonic characters trying to push past (sometimes successfully) their fear-causing natures, this book instantly joins the classic ranks of Captain Underpants and The Stinky Cheese Man.
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-91240-2
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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