Fans of both paranormal characters and ballet will like this; others should stick with a traditional interpretation of the...
Young Zombelina wins the part of Clara in The Nutcracker, but her Grandpa Phantom causes problems during a performance.
Zombelina is the only zombie girl in the cast of The Nutcracker. Her best friend, Lizzie, is cast in the chorus, but the girls support each other and remain friends. Zombelina’s grandfather haunts the theater, and during a performance he alters the lighting so the bones of all the dancers show through their costumes. It’s not clear what the exact paranormal effect is here—magical paralysis? Temporary electrocution? Only Grandpa Phantom knows for sure. Zombelina asks Lizzie to take over her part so the young zombie can deal with her grandfather backstage. The switch is effected by Zombelina’s actual removal of her legs, which she lends to Lizzie for the rest of the performance. Lizzie is supposed to tuck her legs up in her costume and dance on Zombelina’s legs, but the mechanics of this switch aren’t clear or believable. The performance ends with Zombelina back on stage with the cast for a standing ovation—and one of Zombelina’s legs on the loose. There are some funny zombie-themed jokes woven into the story, and Zombelina is an intriguing character, but there are too many leaps in logic in the plot. Colored-pencil illustrations give the green-faced Zombelina personality, and Idle does a fine job with the ballet positions and complex stage scenes.
Fans of both paranormal characters and ballet will like this; others should stick with a traditional interpretation of the holiday classic. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-6196-3640-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers.
Two little rats decide to show the world how tough they are, with unpredictable results.
Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be just like their single dad, Big Lou: tough! They know that “tough” means doing mean things to other animals, like stealing Chad Badgerton’s hat. Chad Badgerton is a big badger, so taking that hat from him proves that Louie and Ralphie are just as tough as they want to be. However, it turns out that Louie and Ralphie have just done a good deed instead of a bad one: Chad Badgerton had taken that hat from little Tiny Crawley, a mouse, so when Tiny reclaims it, they are celebrated for goodness rather than toughness. Sadly, every attempt Louie and Ralphie make at doing mean things somehow turns nice. What’s a little boy rat supposed to do to be tough? Plus, they worry about what their dad will say when he finds out how good they’ve been. But wait! Maybe their dad has some other ideas? LaReau keeps the action high and completely appropriate for readers embarking on chapter books. Each of the first six chapters features a new, failed attempt by Louie and Ralphie to be mean, and the final, seventh chapter resolves everything nicely. The humor springs from their foiled efforts and their reactions to their failures. Myers’ sprightly grayscale drawings capture action and characters and add humorous details, such as the Ratsos’ “unwelcome” mat.
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers. (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7636-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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