Bad Kitty fans will certainly embrace Puppy’s first outing since Poor Puppy (2007).
Puppy and Uncle Murray escape a rampaging Bad Kitty for a day’s adventure on the town.
Bad Kitty’s acting crazier than usual. Puppy never minds, but Uncle Murray rescues him anyway, and the two go for a walk. Uh-oh! Uncle Murray forgot Puppy’s leash, so he gets a ticket from a police officer. Puppy has to do his business and…Uncle Murray has no bags to clean up—another ticket. Puppy’s collar and tags are at home…another ticket. Poor Uncle Murray! Maybe a trip to the dog park will help. Puppy meets a new friend—in the way puppies do—and when he and Uncle Murray get separated, Puppy ends up in the pound. Will Uncle Murray rescue him? What about Puppy’s new friends? And what of Bad Kitty’s conniption? Bruel lets Bad Kitty’s drooling, happy canine sibling have a tale of his own. As in previous chapter-book–length outings in the series, the story is heavily illustrated and dotted with two-page informational spreads. This time, Bad Kitty takes over Uncle Murray’s lecturing duties to speak on differences in potty habits between cats and dogs and the reasons dogs sniff bottoms. Perhaps it’s not the best of the series, but it offers plenty of good, goofy fun that’s ever-so-slightly instructional.
Bad Kitty fans will certainly embrace Puppy’s first outing since Poor Puppy (2007). (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-11)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-59643-976-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Neal Porter/First Second
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale.
After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
File under “laugh riot.”
A rogue spell-check program’s bid to transform all life-forms into that eminently useful office item, the paper clip, touches off a fresh round of lunar lunacy.
Predicated on the entirely reasonable premise that eliminating all spelling and grammar errors everywhere would logically lead to the necessity of exterminating carbon-based life in the universe, this third series entry combines high stakes with daffy banter and daring exploits. CheckMate—a chipper, jumped-up editing program—has invented the Transmogratron, a giant laser that will fulfill its ultimate goals in both the cyber world and “meatspace.” Facing challenges as random as prankster lunar unicorns and a disarmingly motherly Motherboard, scowling First Cat joins a motley crew of diversely carbon- and silicon-based allies, led by the pearlescent Queen of the Moon. They’re in a race to the finish—diverted occasionally by, for instance, a relentlessly punny comic-book interlude featuring a pair of literal and figurative Pool Sharks. They ultimately triumph thanks to teamwork and moxie. Following a celebratory party and toasts to “new friends…and steadfast comrades” (and, of course, “MEOW”), the story’s energetic, brightly colored panels close with a reveal of the next volume. (“I always hate it when comics end by announcing a sequel. SO CRINGE!” declares an authorial stand-in.) It can’t come too soon.
File under “laugh riot.” (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780063315280
Page Count: 272
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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