At a faux-woodgrain fruitstand rifled with lushly painted fruit, an old woman buys strawberries. Here and throughout, only her gnomelike face and her hands are painted like the rest of the picture; her flat gray form matches and bleeds into the background. This allows for some tricky hide-and-seek later, when the Gray Lady is being pursued by the Snatcher—an electric blue creature clad in luminescent green cape and purple slouch hat, who seems a kiddie-cartoon version of a psychedelic-album-cover grotesque. Lurking now outside the fruitstand, the Snatcher trails the Lady past showcased pastry and other window displays. He reaches out but misses, as snakes from a passing Indian woman's basket form a surrealistic barrier between him and the poster-basic bus the Lady is boarding. Riding the Indian woman's skateboard, the Snatcher reappears at the end of the bus line, and the terror mounts. The Gray Lady flees from him through a thicket of reaching, Rackhamesque trees, and leads him into deeper, pretty greenery . . . where he stops, turns, plunges into a sunlit, lacy blackberry glade, and feasts blissfully on the berries. Thus saved, the Gray Lady shows up in her patterned, textured parlor and distributes strawberries to a family of six—which includes another gnomelike woman, outlandishly dressed in striped leg warmers. The jacket flap calls this wordless string of gratuitous effects an allegory, which we will accept as part of the joke.
Pub Date: March 1, 1980
ISBN: 0689803818
Page Count: -
Publisher: Four Winds/MacMillan
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1980
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick.
An elderly witch, a magical girl, a brave carpenter, a wise monster, a tiny dragon, paper birds, and a madwoman converge to thwart a magician who feeds on sorrow.
Every year Elders of the Protectorate leave a baby in the forest, warning everyone an evil Witch demands this sacrifice. In reality, every year, a kind witch named Xan rescues the babies and find families for them. One year Xan saves a baby girl with a crescent birthmark who accidentally feeds on moonlight and becomes “enmagicked.” Magic babies can be tricky, so Xan adopts little Luna herself and lovingly raises her, with help from an ancient swamp monster and a chatty, wee dragon. Luna’s magical powers emerge as her 13th birthday approaches. Meanwhile, Luna’s deranged real mother enters the forest to find her daughter. Simultaneously, a young carpenter from the Protectorate enters the forest to kill the Witch and end the sacrifices. Xan also enters the forest to rescue the next sacrificed child, and Luna, the monster, and the dragon enter the forest to protect Xan. In the dramatic denouement, a volcano erupts, the real villain attempts to destroy all, and love prevails. Replete with traditional motifs, this nontraditional fairy tale boasts sinister and endearing characters, magical elements, strong storytelling, and unleashed forces. Luna has black eyes, curly, black hair, and “amber” skin.
Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61620-567-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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