A charming origin story for young readers and lovers of folktales.
Cricket’s lighthearted novel of magic for tweens and teens looks at the humble beginnings of a famous figure of English mythology.
Robin Goodfellow doesn’t mean to misbehave; it’s just that pranks and charms come naturally to him. Raised by his mother in a small English village, he spends his days cavorting around the countryside and only occasionally completing his chores. His godmother is furious about his lack of religious observance, but he just can’t seem to keep the prayers straight in his head. When the local lord dies, Robin’s village is shaken by the arrival of a greedy new baron who will rule until the late lord’s young heir comes of age. Robin’s personal life is upended when he faces an unexpected tragedy—just as he discovered a new world of magic after meeting a shepherd named Oberon in a nearby forest. Especially significant is his discovery of a knife with mysterious markings that aids him in unexpected ways. From then on, Robin lives on the outskirts of society, helping his neighbors with secret good deeds, aided by small charms he learned from his mother. Cricket delightfully captures the capricious thoughts of young Robin, and the account of the protagonist’s journey to understanding his faerie nature is captivating. Especially enchanting are the folksy rhyming charms that Robin calls upon to accomplish his tasks, adding an air of homespun authenticity to the happenings: “Listen to my stone, lazy blade/ And work will never wear you down./ Ever sharp be your golden song,/ Music of meadow mowing the dawn.” The other characters, both friends and foes, are well developed, and Robin’s best friend, a girl named Kit, becomes an important catalyst at several key moments. Adding an additional layer of intrigue is a rescue plot toward the end, which also features Robin coming to terms with his position between the human and faerie societies.
A charming origin story for young readers and lovers of folktales.Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2024
ISBN: 9798991155021
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Cosmic Turtle Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A deftly told story that dramatizes how Danes appointed themselves bodyguards—not only for their king, who was in the habit...
The author of the Anastasia books as well as more serious fiction (Rabble Starkey, 1987) offers her first historical fiction—a story about the escape of the Jews from Denmark in 1943.
Five years younger than Lisa in Carol Matas' Lisa's War (1989), Annemarie Johansen has, at 10, known three years of Nazi occupation. Though ever cautious and fearful of the ubiquitous soldiers, she is largely unaware of the extent of the danger around her; the Resistance kept even its participants safer by telling them as little as possible, and Annemarie has never been told that her older sister Lise died in its service. When the Germans plan to round up the Jews, the Johansens take in Annemarie's friend, Ellen Rosen, and pretend she is their daughter; later, they travel to Uncle Hendrik's house on the coast, where the Rosens and other Jews are transported by fishing boat to Sweden. Apart from Lise's offstage death, there is little violence here; like Annemarie, the reader is protected from the full implications of events—but will be caught up in the suspense and menace of several encounters with soldiers and in Annemarie's courageous run as courier on the night of the escape. The book concludes with the Jews' return, after the war, to homes well kept for them by their neighbors.
A deftly told story that dramatizes how Danes appointed themselves bodyguards—not only for their king, who was in the habit of riding alone in Copenhagen, but for their Jews. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: April 1, 1989
ISBN: 0547577095
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1989
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