Fans of the first book will be thrilled to encounter more fact-filled fun.
Dr. Glider travels around the world to advise her patients and instruct her readers.
The bespectacled sugar glider introduced in Eat Your Rocks, Croc! (2020) dispenses more advice, fast facts, and interesting science concepts to 15 new patients here. The doctor’s travels begin and end in Canada, but in between she dives into oceans, flies to Australia, climbs trees and even mountains, visits islands in southeast Asia, the Galápagos, nature reserves in Africa, and the seashore on Nantucket. Spread by spread, each animal is introduced with a given name and its geographical habitat before it poses a question that allows Dr. Glider to reveal a curious fact. The sloth is turning green; that’s algae that grows on its back because it moves slowly and seldom. Blue dragons (a kind of sea slug called a nudibranch) eat the tentacles of the stinging man-of-war to make themselves venomous. The text is simple and short, fitted into speech bubbles. Each spread includes additional facts and concepts in boxes along the right. Keating has a knack for finding intriguing information and the skill to impart it with humor. Oswald’s engaging illustrations feature creatures with expressive, anthropomorphic faces. Dr. Glider has been provided with wonderful accessories: a device for recording the kookaburra; earphones for hearing the infrasonic sounds of the okapi; a safari helmet for exploring the zebra’s savanna. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Fans of the first book will be thrilled to encounter more fact-filled fun. (glossary, cast list) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-23989-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Disconcerting and possibly deadly dealings are afoot; certain to charm younger fans of the macabre.
In the latest installment of the delightfully disturbing chapter-book series, the mundane once more takes on supernatural qualities, this time in the form of veggies.
With this follow-up to Troubling Tonsils! (2025), our host, Jasper Rabbit, once more channels Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. As Jasper narrates, we meet our heroes: fourth graders Thaddeus Badger and Oliver Possum, who love nothing more than eating junk food, particularly the hamburgers at Hurt-A-Burger (a mildly brilliant corporate name on the author’s part). When Oliver’s parents trick the two into a dinner of salads at their favorite fast-food joint, Thaddeus feels betrayed, but Oliver experiences something a little more dire. Soon after, Oliver starts acting strangely, and his parents begin behaving even more oddly. What’s going on? And does it have anything to do with the full moon? Tone is the true star of the show in this series; the mystery unspools thanks to the buildup of unnerving moments. Reynolds combines suspense with a keen ability to artistically frame both sunny innocent sequences and those rich with dark foreboding. Notably, this is no morality tale about eating your vegetables—this tale is fully on the side of its child readers. Brown’s black-and-white images, punctuated with eerie pops of green, heighten both horrifying and comedic moments.
Disconcerting and possibly deadly dealings are afoot; certain to charm younger fans of the macabre. (Chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781665961110
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2026 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.
