Hildegarde, practical and religious leader of all 219 church mice residing in St. Bartholemew’s, may be an “old lady,” but she handles threats with aplomb. “[I]ncessant reproduction” and energetic activity lead to exposure of their hidden existence. Fearing an annihilating Great X, Hildegarde and her helpers nibble away the phone book’s “x” page so the priest can’t make the appointment; when this fails (because Extermination actually starts with “e”), Hildegarde savvily charges 52 mice to each cover a deadly Glue Board with a playing card from Father Murphy’s solitaire deck. Then St. Francis’ feast day arrives, when cats are welcome (yikes). Sending her flock into hiding, Hildegarde boldly adorns herself in a gumdrop hat and walks majestically down the church aisle—in plain sight—during the pet blessings, leaving Father Murphy no choice but to tenderly bless this mouse. Like the young readers of this book, the mice glide unbothered and uncomprehending past the occasional mature reference (Alcoholics Anonymous and “X-rated DVDs,” mentioned without illumination), though they do understand Lowry’s specialized, high-level vocabulary (alb, chasuble, sacrosanct—they are church mice, after all). This gently Christian piece with Rohmann’s earnest pencil illustrations will please talking-animal fans. (Animal fantasy. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 21, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-39009-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
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
Lively fun with animal friends.
Has Plum’s pep deserted him?
Several animals from the Athensville Zoo are on their way to visit an elementary school. Overconfident Itch the ningbing (an Australian marsupial), unaware that zookeeper Lizzie will be doing all the talking, looks forward to “lecturing eager young minds.” Plum, the usually chipper peacock, on the other hand, is anxious—maybe the schoolchildren won’t like him or he’ll get lost. So when they arrive at the school to find the students have been sent home due to a blizzard, Plum is relieved. The animals are left in a school gym for the night until three self-important class mice free them. Itch heads for the library to meet the learned turtle, but Plum reluctantly explores with his friends. When his anxiety peaks, they reassure him, and when the mice reject Meg, another peacock, as “borrrring” and uncool, they buoy her as well before everyone comes together to save Itch, who finds himself outside and stranded in a snowdrift. Unlike Leave It to Plum (2022), this is not a mystery, and the relationship focus shifts from Lizzie to the rodents, but the pace is brisk, and sequel seekers will be pleased to revisit familiar characters (if dismayed that Itch’s longing for knowledge leads to his downfall). In Phelan’s engaging grayscale pen-and-wash illustrations, Lizzie has short curly hair; text and art cue her as Latine.
Lively fun with animal friends. (how to draw Plum) (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-307920-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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