Friendship and gamesmanship form the core of this heartwarming underdog adventure.
With good friends in your corner, you don’t have to be the biggest, strongest, or fastest to win.
It’s time for the season final of the Dungeon Run, a televised game in which teams compete in a race to escape a dungeon. Kit, a diminutive young gnorf—“part gnome, part dwarf”—is content to merely watch until, in a thrilling twist, one team meets an untimely end and a spot opens up in the competition. Backed into a corner by a bully named Breg, Kit decides to enter despite having no experience, no magical powers, and no team. With the application deadline looming, Kit scrambles to pull together a group, eventually meeting a gnorf named Sandy, whose magical claim to fame is making sand castles, and Thorn, a vegan vampire who knows first aid: a ragtag group of misfits if ever there was one. Upon entering the dungeon, the three quickly learn that their friendship and loyalty to one another are their greatest strengths and may just give them the edge they need to beat out the competition. Humor, relatable characters, a fast and fun storyline, and some interactive elements will hook young readers from the start. Todd-Stanton’s illustrations are charming and plentiful, an asset both for new chapter-book readers and those who typically prefer graphic novels. This series opener will leave kids eagerly awaiting the next installment.
Friendship and gamesmanship form the core of this heartwarming underdog adventure. (map) (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9798887771410
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape.
The fourth installment in Delacre’s early-reader series centers on the rich musical traditions of Puerto Rico, once again featuring sibling tree frogs Rafi and Rosi Coquí.
Readers learn along with Rafi and Rosi as they explore bomba, plena, and salsa in three chapters. A glossary at the beginning sets readers up well to understand the Spanish vocabulary, including accurate phoneticization for non-Spanish speakers. The stories focus on Rafi and Rosi’s relationship within a musical context. For example, in one chapter Rafi finds out that he attracts a larger audience playing his homemade güiro with Rosi’s help even though he initially excluded her: “Big brothers only.” Even when he makes mistakes, as the older brother, Rafi consoles Rosi when she is embarrassed or angry at him. In each instance, their shared joy for music and dance ultimately shines through any upsets—a valuable reflection of unity. Informational backmatter and author’s sources are extensive. Undoubtedly these will help teachers, librarians, and parents to develop Puerto Rican cultural programs, curriculum, or home activities to extend young readers’ learning. The inclusion of instructions to make one’s own homemade güiro is a thoughtful addition. The Spanish translation, also by Delacre and published simultaneously, will require a more advanced reader than the English one to recognize and comprehend contractions (“pa’bajo-pa-pa’rriba”) and relatively sophisticated vocabulary.
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape. (Early reader. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-89239-429-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Children's Book Press
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
