This witty space adventure provides a comical setting for high-quality, entertaining, age-appropriate puzzles.
Cats! In! Spaaaaaaaace!
The Earth is about to be destroyed by an asteroid the size of a hockey rink, and with the Interplanetary Defense In Orbit Team out of commission after gorging on irradiated sweets, its only hope is the cat-stronauts. Rags, Sassy, Mittens, and Honeydew aren’t special, intelligent, talking cats; they’re merely common housecats. But they are the only available creatures with the extraordinary talents of the indisposed human astronauts, who always land on their feet, are skilled at squeezing into small spaces, and have “the same annoying habit of knocking things off of tabletops.” The joke-packed space adventure is the entertaining frame for a series of well-crafted puzzles, all but one offering a flawless solving experience. The 16 brainteasers hit a wide variety of different skill sets. A word ladder requires both definitions and letter manipulation, a kibble-themed cipher teaches basic code-breaking, and another puzzle requires simple number skills. Visual-manipulation puzzles, a crossword, a word search, and multiple mazes keep the solving process from getting dull. Puzzles draw on school skills, though the constant wisecracks keep them from feeling educational. Some answers aren’t detailed in the text, requiring a look at the answer key (which doesn’t always explain the method for finding the solution). A multiracial group of children who appear on the cover are not actually characters; the space authorities who narrate the story and recruit the cat-stronauts also appear to have a variety of racial backgrounds. (Note: Revisions made to the book after the publication of this review result in a now 100% flawless solving experience for all puzzles.)
This witty space adventure provides a comical setting for high-quality, entertaining, age-appropriate puzzles. (Science fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-57206-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Lively fun with animal friends.
Has Plum’s pep deserted him?
Several animals from the Athensville Zoo are on their way to visit an elementary school. Overconfident Itch the ningbing (an Australian marsupial), unaware that zookeeper Lizzie will be doing all the talking, looks forward to “lecturing eager young minds.” Plum, the usually chipper peacock, on the other hand, is anxious—maybe the schoolchildren won’t like him or he’ll get lost. So when they arrive at the school to find the students have been sent home due to a blizzard, Plum is relieved. The animals are left in a school gym for the night until three self-important class mice free them. Itch heads for the library to meet the learned turtle, but Plum reluctantly explores with his friends. When his anxiety peaks, they reassure him, and when the mice reject Meg, another peacock, as “borrrring” and uncool, they buoy her as well before everyone comes together to save Itch, who finds himself outside and stranded in a snowdrift. Unlike Leave It to Plum (2022), this is not a mystery, and the relationship focus shifts from Lizzie to the rodents, but the pace is brisk, and sequel seekers will be pleased to revisit familiar characters (if dismayed that Itch’s longing for knowledge leads to his downfall). In Phelan’s engaging grayscale pen-and-wash illustrations, Lizzie has short curly hair; text and art cue her as Latine.
Lively fun with animal friends. (how to draw Plum) (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-307920-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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