A skillfully written and illustrated tale about an imaginative tween.
In Grubb’s middle-grade novel, a boy finds that it’s not easy being a kid—and it’s even harder if you’re also a superhero.
It’s the summer before he starts sixth grade at Black Butte Ranch in Oregon, and he feels as if everything in his world is changing—especially since his beloved Great Gramp died. Nick and his grandfather invented Click, a superhero character, and the boy still loves working on a Click comic book. He’s a huge fan of comic-book hero Superman, but his old friends left their love of superheroes behind and got into team sports, and Nick’s dad wishes his son would do the same; meanwhile, Nick’s mom has him doing book reports over summer break. As a result, Nick feels like nothing he does is good enough. On top of everything else, Nick’s dad is about to lose his job and move the family to a big city. What nobody seems to notice is that Nick has unusual gifts: He’s an artist who has a great understanding of animals, and he has a big heart. The summer takes a turn for the better when he makes some new friends who like him for who is. When the townsfolk discover that someone has been going around doing good deeds at night, Nick relies on his friends to help him keep his identity a secret. Each chapter opens with a clever and beautifully drawn full-page grayscale comic by Tisdel starring Click and a cast of characters inspired by Nick’s life. The story is compulsively readable, as the pace is dynamic—sometimes exciting and other times tender and contemplative. Nick’s character is easy to relate to in a story that highlights his creativity, self-doubt, grief, patience, and genuine dedication to serving others. The prose is never patronizing and always deeply engaging, with descriptive passages that put the reader in Nick’s shoes; one feels his attachment to his home and to his developing relationships. Each character has their own distinct voice, backstory, and sensibilities, all filtered through Nick’s perspective.
A skillfully written and illustrated tale about an imaginative tween.Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 978-1646034390
Page Count: 188
Publisher: Fitzroy Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale.
After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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