By turns silly and serious, with a satisfying and thoughtful conclusion.
The Student Ambassador is back for another adventure, this time heading south on a special mission in Mexico.
The first book in the series saw Joseph smoothing diplomatic relations between the fictional East and West Rhutar. Now, on a field trip to the James Olman Presidential Library, he helps his classmates work through a propaganda-ridden simulation exercise. Joseph breaks the rules, goes rogue—and impresses former President Olman. The two team up to get to the bottom of the abandoned silver mines of Zacatecas, Mexico; the trip is also an opportunity for Joseph, whose father is Mexican, to reconnect with his roots. Olman wants to invest in the mines and convince the locals that reopening the tunnels would be for their benefit, as well as his own profit, but spooky masked creatures haunting the mines have kept speculators out. When Joseph discovers who is behind the masked figures and why, he must confront the former president about his misconceptions and persuade the powerful man to listen to the concerns of the disempowered. The storyline has a chaotic start and takes a beat to settle in, but once it does, it’s a lighthearted whodunit that encourages readers to think about whose voices they listen to and why. Cartoon images complement the plot, bringing plenty of humor. Olman is light-skinned; Joseph’s classmates are diverse.
By turns silly and serious, with a satisfying and thoughtful conclusion. (Morse code activity) (Graphic fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: May 14, 2024
ISBN: 9781638991328
Page Count: 150
Publisher: Iron Circus Comics
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
Thought-provoking and charming.
A sophisticated robot—with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell—is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500.
When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment—not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different “accent”). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz’s growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell’s The Animal Family. At every moment Roz’s actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz’s benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions—and readers—with hope.
Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-38199-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low.
Recasting Dog Man and his feline ward, Li’l Petey, as costumed superheroes, Pilkey looks East of Eden in this follow-up to Tale of Two Kitties (2017).
The Steinbeck novel’s Cain/Abel motif gets some play here, as Petey, “world’s evilest cat” and cloned Li’l Petey’s original, tries assiduously to tempt his angelic counterpart over to the dark side only to be met, ultimately at least, by Li’l Petey’s “Thou mayest.” (There are also occasional direct quotes from the novel.) But inner struggles between good and evil assume distinctly subordinate roles to riotous outer ones, as Petey repurposes robots built for a movie about the exploits of Dog Man—“the thinking man’s Rin Tin Tin”—while leading a general rush to the studio’s costume department for appropriate good guy/bad guy outfits in preparation for the climactic battle. During said battle and along the way Pilkey tucks in multiple Flip-O-Rama inserts as well as general gags. He lists no fewer than nine ways to ask “who cut the cheese?” and includes both punny chapter titles (“The Bark Knight Rises”) and nods to Hamiltonand Mary Poppins. The cartoon art, neatly and brightly colored by Garibaldi, is both as easy to read as the snappy dialogue and properly endowed with outsized sound effects, figures displaying a range of skin colors, and glimpses of underwear (even on robots).
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low. (drawing instructions) (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-93518-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
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