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
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
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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