Fabulous (as in fablelike), this will tug relentlessly on the mind and heart of any child ready to read it. (Fable. 8-12)
Children are ready for philosophy at a very young age: “What is real?” asked the Velveteen Rabbit, after all.
This beautiful and mysterious volume is not quite a graphic novel, although its black, white and gray pictures fill the pages and hint of Edward Gorey. There are an epigraph and a coda, which are also mysterious, asserting that “Truth and Lies are one.” A marble figure of a little girl, barefoot, looking up from the open book in her lap, sits on a plinth carved with her name, Faith. But one day she speaks, and the carpet—a tiger skin—answers her. She wants to move, to stretch, to finish her book, but the Carpet tells her that she is a statue, a work of art. He tells Faith that she might be under a magic spell; he tells her the shocking story of how he became a rug and how His Grace used to come to this room and read to the statue. He spins many tales, and then he says that everything he speaks is a lie. His Grace dies, and Faith jumps down from her plinth, flying off in the night on her tiger carpet. The house is filled with another family, and the youngest child finds the shut stone book, which one day opens in her hands. Stories—truth and lies—spin around each other, thick as the ornamentation that fills every page.
Fabulous (as in fablelike), this will tug relentlessly on the mind and heart of any child ready to read it. (Fable. 8-12)Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-84270-441-7
Page Count: 78
Publisher: Andersen/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
Fast-paced and plot-driven.
In his latest, prolific author Gratz takes on Hitler’s Olympic Games.
When 13-year-old American gymnast Evie Harris arrives in Berlin to compete in the 1936 Olympic Games, she has one goal: stardom. If she can bring home a gold medal like her friend, the famous equestrian-turned-Hollywood-star Mary Brooks, she might be able to lift her family out of their Dust Bowl poverty. But someone slips a strange note under Evie’s door, and soon she’s dodging Heinz Fischer, the Hitler Youth member assigned to host her, and meeting strangers who want to make use of her gymnastic skills—to rob a bank. As the games progress, Evie begins to see the moral issues behind their sparkling facade—the antisemitism and racism inherent in Nazi ideology and the way Hitler is using the competition to support and promote these beliefs. And she also agrees to rob the bank. Gratz goes big on the Mission Impossible–style heist, which takes center stage over the actual competitions, other than Jesse Owens’ famous long jump. A lengthy and detailed author’s note provides valuable historical context, including places where Gratz adapted the facts for storytelling purposes (although there’s no mention of the fact that before 1952, Olympic equestrian sports were limited to male military officers). With an emphasis on the plot, many of the characters feel defined primarily by how they’re suffering under the Nazis, such as the fictional diver Ursula Diop, who was involuntarily sterilized for being biracial.
Fast-paced and plot-driven. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781338736106
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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