“That’s what I call a fun field trip!” exclaims Fizz in the final panel. Series fans will agree.
In their latest exploit, the fourth-grade sleuths have a hot time countering the schemes of a clever dragon and saving their classmates from becoming spider snacks.
It’s a rollicking romp that’s not much for internal logic but provides opportunities aplenty for hair’s-breadth escapes plus encounters with creepy creatures such as giant spiders and lava sharks. When their school bus is hijacked, aptly named Tank, a troll with the soul of an engineer, and her goblin partner, narrator Fizz Marlow, find themselves in a race against time to recover a stolen crown before the outsized spider queen Azelia devours their captive class. Worse yet, the whole subterranean realm of Rockfall Mountain is in danger of being sucked into the hungry Abyss that lies below its lava lake. The crisis turns out to be the work of Firebane Drakeclaw, a shape-changing dragon whose tangled scheme (as he explains at length) involves creating an army of downtrodden swamp-dwellers in a bid for ultimate power. With help from allies both eight-legged and otherwise, the daring detectives derail his dastardly designs, reclaim the crown, and save their classmates (even kobold bully Rizzo Rawlins) from being slurped dry. Breaking frequently into single and sequential graphic panels done in an orange-and-gray color scheme, the caper features a cast that is devoid of humans but otherwise rich in diverse species and distinct characters.
“That’s what I call a fun field trip!” exclaims Fizz in the final panel. Series fans will agree. (Graphic mystery/fantasy hybrid. 9-11)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1261-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The dream phantasms of a high-spirited narrator intersect, even crowd, reality, but the stream-of-consciousness text makes for a rambling, radically personal tale. Playful images of a stuffed lion, trampoline, purple shoes, and a cat named Pine-Cone take hold in a young girl’s imagination, despite her “old” mother who makes her go to bed when she’d rather “stay up early” and a big sister with a cranky disposition. At home, she likes counting flea bites and pretending to be a worm, but is afraid of the dark and going to Grade One. The second half of the book takes off in a separate first-day-of school direction. Wild dreams precede the big day, which includes bullies on the playground and instant friend Chelsea. The childlike articulations of the text are endearing, but not quite of universal interest, and don’t add up to a compelling story; children may more readily warm to Gay’s illustrations, which include a dreamlike flying cat, a menacing hot dog, and an uproarious stuffed toy looming over everyday domestic scenes. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 15, 1999
ISBN: 1-55143-107-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
The spotlight shifts to Little Vampire’s new human friend Michael in this mistitled sequel to Little Vampire Goes to School (p. 810). Beaten up in front of his girlfriend Sabrina by a bully named Jeffrey, Michael eagerly follows his undead buddy into a magic painting to meet Rabbi Solomon, feline “cat-balist” and kung-fu master. After a quick bout or two, Michael’s ready to rumble; unfortunately, in the meantime a trio of Little Vampire’s over-helpful monster friends have gone to Jeffrey’s house and eaten him. Several misadventures later, Jeffrey’s pieced back together—and though in the ensuing battle Michael’s martial arts skills disappear as quickly as they came, Sabrina sends the bully staggering off in a daze. Illustrated in crowded cartoon panels, the newest episode in this freewheeling graphic mini-novel offers plenty of gags (in more than one sense of the word), but will be incomprehensible to readers unfamiliar with the first chapter. (Picture book. 9-11)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-689-85769-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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