Brilliant, joyful, and deeply moving.
Inspired by her friendship with a famous poet, an 11-year-old attempts to rescue a baby elephant.
Oriol is homesick for Cuba, bullied at school for her Spanish accent, and mourning her Abuelita, who died after their family moved to California to help her receive a diabetes treatment that failed. Set in Santa Barbara in 1947, this novel in verse follows Oriol, who finds comfort in caring for animals at her parents’ veterinary clinic and at a nearby wildlife ranch where movies are filmed. She also befriends an elderly neighbor, later revealed to be a fictionalized version of a real historical figure: Gabriela Mistral, the Chilean poet of mestizo Incan and Basque heritage and the first Latin American winner of the Nobel Prize in literature. Mistral teaches Oriol to write poems as a way of coping with her emotions and later encourages her to write a petition to help free a baby elephant cruelly separated from her mother and twin sibling. The book is replete with lovely, nearly magical imagery: In one scene, the mother elephant uses her trunk to swoop Oriol off her feet for a hug. In another, elephants and humans march together for justice. Throughout, the power of words—both to help children find where they belong and to make the world a kinder place—profoundly resonates.
Brilliant, joyful, and deeply moving. (author's note, poem by Gabriela Mistral, further reading) (Verse historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-20669-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
Not the most satisfying wrap-up, but it’s always good to spend time in the world of this series.
Beloved gorilla Ivan becomes a father to rambunctious twins in this finale to a quartet that began with 2012’s Newbery Award–winning The One and Only Ivan.
Life hasn’t always been easy for silverback gorilla Ivan, who’s spent most of his life being mistreated in captivity. Now he’s living in a wildlife sanctuary, but he still gets to see his two best friends. Young elephant Ruby lives in the grassy habitat next door, and former stray dog Bob has a home with one of the zookeepers. All three were rescued from the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. Ivan’s expanded world includes fellow gorilla Kinyani—the two are about to become parents, and Ivan is revisiting the traumas of his past in light of what he wants the twins to know. When the subject inevitably comes up, Applegate’s trust and respect for readers is evident. She doesn’t shy away from hard truths as Ivan wrestles with the fact that poachers killed his family. Readers will need the context provided by knowledge of the earlier books to feel the full emotional impact of this story. The rushed ending unfortunately falls flat, detracting from the central message that a complex life can still contain hope. Final art not seen.
Not the most satisfying wrap-up, but it’s always good to spend time in the world of this series. (gorilla games, glossary, author’s note) (Verse fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780063221123
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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