A well-told tale sure to enchant older and younger readers alike.
Take a fairy-filled walk through the woods.
One pleasant day, Dad introduces his daughter, Stella, to Ripple Grove and tells her a story about the fairies who live there and protect the forest. He believes the fairies are real. Will she? Larson employs three different styles of illustrations: the first, lush mossy green forest and underground scenes; the second, a labeled cartoonish drawing identifying the characters; and the last, annotated maps of Ripple Grove and its multilayered magical world of the Underground Meadow, where an underground River with No Name helps magic crystals grow, and Hobb Hill, home of the Trelfs, “a dirty, rotten bunch who didn’t take care of their trees, or soil, or water” and whose land is dying. The Trelfs want to steal the crystals and keep all the magic while letting Ripple Grove and the fairies waste away. Dad’s storytelling, illustrations that turn somber, and well-timed page turns capture this tense conflict between good and evil as the tiny fairies defend their home from the giant Trelfs. At the end of the father’s tale, the pair head home. The story could end at Stella’s bedtime, but it doesn’t. Subtle hints in earlier scenes—a portfolio tucked under Dad’s arm—make sense when Dad gets to work drawing after Stella is asleep. Though younger children will enjoy hearing this read aloud, older ones will pore over the in-depth artwork. Both father and daughter present White; the magical beings vary in skin tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A well-told tale sure to enchant older and younger readers alike. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Nov. 22, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64160-819-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the...
An all-zombie-all-the-time zombiefest, featuring a bunch of grade-school kids, including protagonist Stink and his happy comrades.
This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the streets in the time-honored stiff-armed, stiff-legged fashion. McDonald signals her intent on page one: “Stink and Webster were playing Attack of the Knitting Needle Zombies when Fred Zombie’s eye fell off and rolled across the floor.” The farce is as broad as the Atlantic, with enough spookiness just below the surface to provide the all-important shivers. Accompanied by Reynolds’ drawings—dozens of scene-setting gems with good, creepy living dead—McDonald shapes chapters around zombie motifs: making zombie costumes, eating zombie fare at school, reading zombie books each other to reach the one-million-minutes-of-reading challenge. When the zombie walk happens, it delivers solid zombie awfulness. McDonald’s feel-good tone is deeply encouraging for readers to get up and do this for themselves because it looks like so much darned fun, while the sub-message—that reading grows “strong hearts and minds,” as well as teeth and bones—is enough of a vital interest to the story line to be taken at face value.Pub Date: March 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5692-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
