Character development and nuance enhance a simple, action-oriented plot.
Unicorn Guardians Ruby and Iris compete in a race to determine the better rider.
After a near collision on unicorn-back, sisters Ruby and Iris argue about who is at fault: Iris thinks Ruby needs to watch out while Ruby thinks Iris too fearful a rider. Their friend Cole, the Dragon Guardian, suggests a contest to resolve the conflict. He proposes that they race across the Diamond Desert to the Lotus Oasis, where they can find the Lotus Gem—the first to retrieve it wins. Ruby chooses a unicorn for size and strength; Iris opts for a smart unicorn who can “think fast and avoid trouble.” While Ruby’s desire for speed causes costly mistakes, she still manages to overtake Iris and, with single-minded focus, reach the gem first—triggering a calamity. Unable to outrun the trouble she’s accidentally caused, Ruby is lucky that Iris and her clever mount are there to guide her to safety. Ultimately, Ruby thinks Iris is the better rider for listening to her mount while Iris points out that Ruby was on track to win their contest as the faster rider. Discussion questions at the end of the book ask readers which skill is more important, riding fast or riding smart, but the text itself doesn’t denigrate Ruby’s talents to push a moral, landing on an ending that’s both ambiguous and joyful. Illustrated characters present White. Series companions Unique Unicorn, Starberry Magic, and Shadow Stallion publish simultaneously.
Character development and nuance enhance a simple, action-oriented plot. (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63163-513-7
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound.
The titular cookie runs off the page at a bookstore storytime, pursued by young listeners and literary characters.
Following on 13 previous How To Catch… escapades, Wallace supplies sometimes-tortured doggerel and Elkerton, a set of helter-skelter cartoon scenes. Here the insouciant narrator scampers through aisles, avoiding a series of elaborate snares set by the racially diverse young storytime audience with help from some classic figures: “Alice and her mad-hat friends, / as a gift for my unbirthday, / helped guide me through the walls of shelves— / now I’m bound to find my way.” The literary helpers don’t look like their conventional or Disney counterparts in the illustrations, but all are clearly identified by at least a broad hint or visual cue, like the unnamed “wizard” who swoops in on a broom to knock over a tower labeled “Frogwarts.” Along with playing a bit fast and loose with details (“Perhaps the boy with the magic beans / saved me with his cow…”) the author discards his original’s lip-smacking climax to have the errant snack circling back at last to his book for a comfier sort of happily-ever-after.
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0935-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off.
This rocket hopes to take its readers on a birthday blast—but there may or may not be enough fuel.
Once a year, a one-seat rocket shoots out from Earth. Why? To reveal a special congratulatory banner for a once-a-year event. The second-person narration puts readers in the pilot’s seat and, through a (mostly) ballad-stanza rhyme scheme (abcb), sends them on a journey toward the sun, past meteors, and into the Kuiper belt. The final pages include additional information on how birthdays are measured against the Earth’s rotations around the sun. Collingridge aims for the stars with this title, and he mostly succeeds. The rhyme scheme flows smoothly, which will make listeners happy, but the illustrations (possibly a combination of paint with digital enhancements) may leave the viewers feeling a little cold. The pilot is seen only with a 1960s-style fishbowl helmet that completely obscures the face, gender, and race by reflecting the interior of the rocket ship. This may allow readers/listeners to picture themselves in the role, but it also may divest them of any emotional connection to the story. The last pages—the backside of a triple-gatefold spread—label the planets and include Pluto. While Pluto is correctly labeled as a dwarf planet, it’s an unusual choice to include it but not the other dwarfs: Ceres, Eris, etc. The illustration also neglects to include the asteroid belt or any of the solar system’s moons.
A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 31, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-18949-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: David Fickling/Phoenix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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