Easily meets the series’ high standards.
At the end of Year Four at Miss Cackle’s Academy, prizes are awarded—will Mildred and her friends win anything?
Heading into Summer Term, Mildred has high hopes: She secretly hopes to be chosen as next year’s head girl. But it’s unlikely because, as pal Maud points out, “if there’s a Hallow in the school, it always goes to them, and we’ve got Ethel Hallow.” Meanwhile, villainous Ethel wants to make sure she also claims the best-flying prize and finds a way to attack the key ingredient to Mildred’s flying success: Mildred’s dog, Star, who became Mildred’s broom companion in The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star (2013). Learning that Star is a missing circus dog, Ethel brings this to the authorities’ attention, and Mildred tearfully surrenders Star. When Mildred and friends visit the circus to make sure Star’s happy, they learn that, though none of the circus animals are mistreated, they are not happy, either. The girls engineer a swap of magical tools for the animals. The nostalgia-inducing art and classic British children’s story feel mesh exceptionally well with the circus storyline’s subtle messaging about alternatives to animals in circuses—and it’s done so without casting the circus owners as villains and without judging circus fans. Even bully Ethel and her henchgirl, Drusilla, receive occasional flashes of sympathy—but not so much as to take away from Mildred’s triumph over them! In illustrations, the characters are depicted as white.
Easily meets the series’ high standards. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1101-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
IN THE NEWS
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
More hijinks-filled adventure than mystery, this is sure to win an audience.
Ben Silverstein’s summer with Grandpa is about to go wild.
When his parents need to “work out some troubles,” 10-year-old Ben gets shipped off to tiny Buttonville, where everything seems to be closed or out of business since the button factory was shuttered years ago. Ben’s used to spending summers in the pool in his Los Angeles backyard with his friends, and Buttonville looks positively coma-inducing. When Grandpa’s mouser Barnaby deposits what has to be a baby dragon on Ben’s bed, Ben and his new friend Pearl (whom the whole town calls “troublemaker” on account of a few innocent incidents) decide to visit the new “worm doctor” who has moved into the abandoned button factory. (Ben had heard her strange assistant Mr. Tabby buying ingredients for “dragon’s milk” at the grocery....) When their visit unleashes a hairy, pudding-loving imaginary beast on the town of Buttonville, Ben and Pearl volunteer to catch him. Selfors kicks off her Imaginary Veterinary series with a solid, entertaining opener. Ben and Pearl are Everykids that readers will relate to, and the adults of Buttonville are often delightfully weird and clueless. Twenty-five pages of backmatter include information on wyverns and sasquatch as well as the science of reptiles and a pudding recipe.
More hijinks-filled adventure than mystery, this is sure to win an audience. (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-316-20934-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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