Growing up and coming out are slightly scary but wonderfully magical in this appealing and optimistic tale.
Finding out she’s a witch isn’t the only revelation Lilla has about her identity while she’s away from home.
Thirteen-year-old Lilla and her older sister, Dani, fly to Italy to spend time with their aunt. For Dani, this means reuniting with the Italian boy she likes, but Lilla feels uncomfortable thinking about boys and love: She has always felt different, but she’s shocked when a mysterious book magically appears and reveals she’s a witch. The book helps her learn to use her new powers and teaches her about supernatural beings. What she doesn’t know is that something dangerous is lurking, and the only way to be safe will be to accept truths about herself and everything that encompasses who she is. This gentle yet somewhat spooky story deftly balances realistic plotlines of sisterhood, growing up, and sexual orientation with fantasy elements of magic and unusual creatures. The Italian setting, with bits of the language peppered in, is richly portrayed. Muted colors fill crisp, unlined panels on white pages that match the soft tone of the story, and minimalistic facial features highlight the characters’ emotions. The magical moments are particularly visually compelling with their glowy light. A hopeful, joyous ending makes this story one to savor. Main characters read as White; the sisters’ aunt’s boyfriend is Black.
Growing up and coming out are slightly scary but wonderfully magical in this appealing and optimistic tale. (Graphic fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: July 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-53884-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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
Certain to steal hearts.
In this follow-up to 2020’s The One and Only Bob, Ruby the elephant is still living at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary.
She’s apprehensive about her Tuskday, a rite of passage for young elephants when she’ll give a speech in front of the rest of the herd. Luckily, she can confide in her Uncle Ivan, who is next door in Gorilla World, and Uncle Bob, the dog who lives nearby with human friend Julia. Ruby was born in an unspecified part of Africa, later ending up on display in the mall, where she met Ivan, Bob, and Julia. The unexpected arrival of someone from Ruby’s past life on the savanna revives memories both warmly nostalgic and deeply traumatic. An elephant glossary and Castelao’s charming, illustrated guide to elephant body language help immerse readers in Ruby’s world. Goofy, playful, and mischievous Ruby is fully dimensional, as she has shown her bravery during the many hardships of her young life. Applegate deftly tempers themes of grief and loss with compassion and humor as Ruby finds her place in the herd. The author’s note touches on climate change, the illegal ivory trade, and conservation efforts, but the highly emotive framing of the story through the memories of a bewildered baby elephant emphasizes the impact of lines such as “ ‘in Africa,’ I say softly, ‘there were bad people,’ ” without offering readers a nuanced understanding of the broader context that drives poaching.
Certain to steal hearts. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780063080089
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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