Part cautionary tale, part folktale, this is a leisurely, imaginative read.
Eleven-year-old Sorrel unlocks the power of magical seeds to transform her life and the entire town with it.
When Sorrel unearths a packet of Surprising Seeds from under a concrete slab in her patio, she sets off on a mission to plant and nurture them. After they fail to come to life in dirt, she is compelled by an outside force to grow them right on her own head and that of best friend Neena. Grow they do—into a mop of flowers and vegetables—and it doesn’t stop there. Sorrel learns about the history and enchanted magic of Agatha Strangeways and the lush fields and wildflowers she tended that once ruled their now concrete-laden English town of Little Sterilis. The book is told in the first person from Sorrel’s perspective with small cautionary passages directed to readers. Until Agatha’s history comes to light, the story moves slowly, but after that point the pace picks up. Skinner’s tale is imaginative and vibrant even if some of the characters fall flat; Sorrel may be the least interesting person in the story, outshone by outspoken, science-minded Neena and fascinating Strangeways. The book’s lessons sometimes lack subtlety, but the metaphor of paving paradise rings necessarily loud and true. All characters are presumed White, save British Indian Neena and her family.
Part cautionary tale, part folktale, this is a leisurely, imaginative read. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-00-839849-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Harper360
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2021
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
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