Adventurous, humorous, and magical.
Retellings of three classic fairy tales—“Rapunzel,” “Cinderella,” and “Sleeping Beauty”—with a Muslim twist.
Golden-skinned, dark-haired Rumaysa was taken from her parents by a witch, trapped in a tower in an enchanted forest, and forced to spin straw into gold. Her only friend is Zabina, an owl. Inspired to make a very long hijab to help her escape, Rumaysa is lowering herself to the ground when she meets Suleiman, a lost boy in possession of a magic carpet, sent by his parents to search for a princess taken by a dragon. In the second of these three interconnected stories, Rumaysa meets brown-skinned, curly-haired Ayla in Qamaroon. She’s an orphan who lives with her demanding stepmother and stepsisters. Rumaysa helps Ayla transform herself for the royal Eid ball, where Ayla meets the prince. But fearful of being caught by her stepmother, she runs off, leaving one golden shoe behind. Finally, Rumaysa is transported to a tower guarded by a dragon, where Princess Sara, who has warm brown skin and “a beautiful big body,” is under a sleeping spell. There she also runs into Suleiman. Working together, Rumaysa and Suleiman defeat the villain and reunite the princess with her parents. Rather than focus on happily-ever-afters or romance, Hafiza portrays the women in her story as strong, independent, and clever. Suleiman has his own journey of pushing back against gender expectations. Cultural elements are seamlessly woven in, and grayscale illustrations punctuate the text.
Adventurous, humorous, and magical. (Fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9781529038309
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 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
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