Juvenile fans of Dragnet or Law & Order: SVU might look forward to Book 2; few others will.
Who’s flooding Kalamazoo City with synthetic fish? The Platypus Police Squad is on the case!
Platypus Rick Zengo is ready for his first day as a detective on the Platypus Police Squad. He dreams of living up to the reputation of his grandfather, who helped rid the city of crime boss Frank Pandini Sr. Partnered with stodgy, slow Detective O’Malley, Zengo doesn’t think he has a chance until their first case, the disappearance of teacher William Hopkins, looks to involve dangerous synthetic fish and possibly Kalamazoo City’s new savior, businessman Frank Pandini Jr. Son of the former crime kingpin, he says he’s working to undo the damage his father did. Zengo’s impulsive actions land the duo on safety-patrol duty, but a break in the case might be the key to success! Making his chapter-book debut with this series kick-off, Krosoczka, known for his foolish and fun picture books and the goofy Lunch Lady graphic novels, turns out a surprisingly dull two-joke mystery. Cop platypuses: hysterical! Synthetic fish: funnier than fart jokes! It’s a cop-show-rerun plot full of clichéd characters wearing fur and tails. Occasional black-and-white illustrations (final art not seen) might do a bit to liven things up, but the tale’s got the zip of a broken boomerang.
Juvenile fans of Dragnet or Law & Order: SVU might look forward to Book 2; few others will. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-207164-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
