A fun, ballet-inspired hero’s journey, full of heart, trials, and good humor.
Three rival kingdoms, two princesses, one prince—and a quest that could change the realm forever.
Princess Odette of Bloom Kingdom is cursed to take the form of a swan during the day and that of a human at night. She loves ballet, but how can she study it as a swan, hidden away from the curious eyes of the world? One day, frustrated with her parents, Odette flies away to the shores of Swan Lake. There she meets Dillie, the headstrong princess of Rotbart Kingdom. The two quickly become friends despite the stark differences between their kingdoms. When they learn that Rotbart is held responsible for Odette’s curse, they begin a quest to clear the Rotbart name and lift the curse. Soon, they are joined by Siegfried, the sweet, sensitive prince of Montrose Kingdom who plans to prove that he is worthy of the crown. As the three search for the keys to their quest, they face kidnappers, menacing vegetation, and even goblins and learn to appreciate their individual strengths and weaknesses. Nonstop adventure and colorfully illustrated panels keep the pages of this Swan Lake reimagining turning, while quieter moments underscore the budding friendships among the three heirs. Odette has light-brown skin and red hair, pale goth Dillie has a prosthetic leg, and Siegfried has dark-brown skin and blue and purple hair.
A fun, ballet-inspired hero’s journey, full of heart, trials, and good humor. (map, author's note, note about Tchaikovsky) (Graphic fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-294148-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride.
Zipping back and forth in time atop outsized robo–bell bottoms, mad inventor Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) legs his way to center stage in this slightly less-labored continuation of episode 9.
The action commences after a rambling recap and a warning not to laugh or smile on pain of being forced to read Sarah Plain and Tall. Pilkey first sends his peevish protagonist back a short while to save the Earth (destroyed in the previous episode), then on to various prehistoric eras in pursuit of George, Harold and the Captain. It’s all pretty much an excuse for many butt jokes, dashes of off-color humor (“Tippy pressed the button on his Freezy-Beam 4000, causing it to rise from the depths of his Robo-Pants”), a lengthy wordless comic and two tussles in “Flip-o-rama.” Still, the chase kicks off an ice age, the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Big Bang (here the Big “Ka-Bloosh!”). It ends with a harrowing glimpse of what George and Harold would become if they decided to go straight. The author also chucks in a poopy-doo-doo song with musical notation (credited to Albert P. Einstein) and plenty of ink-and-wash cartoon illustrations to crank up the ongoing frenzy.
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-17536-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
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