An uneven but appealing introduction to a fantasy world.
A mermaid and a firebird explore Earth together in this duology opener.
Mermaid Atana was living alone on an island and in its surrounding waters (on land, Atana has legs), until the night firebird Ren appeared from the sky. Ren’s fearless curiosity inspires Atana to join her adventure, despite the mermaid’s fears of magic hunters, and the two set off together. It’s been centuries since firebirds last appeared on Earth, and Ren’s arrival hasn’t gone unnoticed. The two are immediately waylaid by magic hunters, taken in by a stranger, and invited into the protection of the mysterious Witch Queen. But does the Witch Queen’s hospitality come with a hidden cost? Along the way, Ren and Atana pursue their own family secrets, and they befriend Witch Guard trainee Cosmos, who’s on a mission of her own. This intriguing, complex story is simply and elegantly drawn, with many wordless panels. Readers may need to reread portions of the book to identify characters or work to pick up on other visual clues. Just as the rapport between Atana, Ren, and Cosmos starts to gel, the plot hurtles to a climax, and the story comes to an end. Still, lovers of the genre will find plenty to enjoy. Ren’s human form has brown skin and long, white-blond hair; Atana has light-brown skin and close-cropped green hair, and the supporting cast is varied in appearance.
An uneven but appealing introduction to a fantasy world. (development art) (Graphic fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9780063075924
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
A real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
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