A safe bet for magic-loving young readers.
From the author of the Purrmaids series comes a new series about mer-unicorns.
It’s the big day when young mermicorns of Seadragon Bay who are ready to learn magic are invited to attend Mermicorn Magic Academy, and Sirena hopes she’ll be included. After meeting Lily, who has just received her letter, Sirena rushes home to find her own acceptance. Soon, Sirena and Lily aren’t just classmates, but also assigned to be partners at their new magic school. While Sirena’s excited to have a new friend, she quickly finds herself growing insecure about her abilities, as magic seems to come easily for Lily. Sirena ends up in a cycle of self-defeat—the more she worries about magic, the more the negativity affects her ability to perform it. After school, Sirena wants to go practice without an audience, but Lily wants to join her, resulting in a confrontation between the two, a revelation that Lily’s not as confident as she has seemed, and a chance for Sirena to shine in both magic and friendship. Though many aspects of the plot are common to the genre, the heavy emphasis on feelings and the open acknowledgment that contradictory feelings can be experienced simultaneously give validation and reassurance to its audience. Though the mermicorns don’t have races per se and all have wildly colored manes and tails, Sirena is depicted with a white hide while Lily is a chestnut. In Book 2, A Friendship Problem, publishing simultaneously, Lily takes center stage.
A safe bet for magic-loving young readers. (Fantasy. 6-9)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30873-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
A close encounter of the best kind.
Left behind when the space bus departs, a child discovers that the moon isn’t as lifeless as it looks.
While the rest of the space-suited class follows the teacher like ducklings, one laggard carrying crayons and a sketchbook sits down to draw our home planet floating overhead, falls asleep, and wakes to see the bus zooming off. The bright yellow bus, the gaggle of playful field-trippers, and even the dull gray boulders strewn over the equally dull gray lunar surface have a rounded solidity suggestive of Plasticine models in Hare’s wordless but cinematic scenes…as do the rubbery, one-eyed, dull gray creatures (think: those stress-busting dolls with ears that pop out when squeezed) that emerge from the regolith. The mutual shock lasts but a moment before the lunarians eagerly grab the proffered crayons to brighten the bland gray setting with silly designs. The creatures dive into the dust when the bus swoops back down but pop up to exchange goodbye waves with the errant child, who turns out to be an olive-skinned kid with a mop of brown hair last seen drawing one of their new friends with the one crayon—gray, of course—left in the box. Body language is expressive enough in this debut outing to make a verbal narrative superfluous.
A close encounter of the best kind. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4253-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
An enigmatic, quirky representation of an active imagination in search of understanding and companionship.
A child finds connection to the world all around in this Korean import.
The illustrations in this unusual picture book achieve a 3-D effect reminiscent of claymation. The opening scene shows an aerial view of a playground scattered with maple and gingko leaves; a tethered dog watches a child aiming at marbles. Accustomed to spending time alone and solitary play, Tong Tong’s fertile imagination infuses a bag of assorted spherical hard candies with powers that give voice to unlikely speakers, such as the living room sofa and Marbles the old dog, each speaking with Tong Tong to share a sentient perspective. The hard candies also channel the tough love hidden within Tong Tong’s father and Grandma’s bubbly, reassuring voice emanating from another realm. The candies’ magic reveals yet another dimension when Tong Tong is drawn outdoors to witness nature’s beauty as copious falling leaves bid farewell to the season. Through these uncanny exchanges, Tong Tong not only makes surprising discoveries, but also delves into complex emotions, celebrates a continuing relationship with Grandma, and takes courageous steps toward a tantalizing conclusion. The enhanced artwork establishes depth and perspective, featuring details some may find initially unsettling—along with the cryptic, open-ended narrative. That said, depictions of facial expressions are skillful and endearing, and the interplay between text and illustrations will cause readers to linger and ponder.
An enigmatic, quirky representation of an active imagination in search of understanding and companionship. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2959-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Amazon Crossing Kids
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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