Cuteness can’t prop up this sagging sophomore slump.

THE BIG RACE HOME

From the Revver the Speedway Squirrel series , Vol. 2

A race car–loving squirrel learns to temper his impulsive streak.

Following 2020’s Revver the Speedway Squirrel, readers are reunited with Revver, the pit crew squirrel. He loves the action and bustle of the racetrack and all the busyness that surrounds it, but he especially loves his human friends, Bill and Joe. When the race team moves circuits, though, Revver has a tough time exercising patience, causing a few catastrophic crashes and then missing his flight with the team. Separated from his humans, he must rely on the goodness of others to help him find his way back to them. Faced with a perilous journey during which he hikes along a treacherous highway, stows away on a crowded train, and encounters a conniving cat, can Revver reunite with his people before the next big race? Rinker’s tale is filled with abundant squirrel cuteness and a smattering of giggle-inducing poop and puke scenes but falls somewhat flat, mired in its own didacticism with its heavy-handed insistence on patience and kindness. Revver’s observations of the world come across as mundane, favoring telling over showing. The text utilizes a plethora of stylistic conventions—words in all caps, bold emphases, italics, and different fonts—which combined may prove too distracting and might have worked better in a shorter-form chapter book. Human characters are presumed White.

Cuteness can’t prop up this sagging sophomore slump. (Animal adventure. 8-11)

Pub Date: Nov. 23, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0367-1

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021

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THE FIRST CAT IN SPACE ATE PIZZA

Will extragalactic rats eat the moon?

Can a cybernetic toenail clipper find a worthy purpose in the vast universe? Will the first feline astronaut ever get a slice of pizza? Read on. Reworked from the Live Cartoon series of homespun video shorts released on Instagram in 2020 but retaining that “we’re making this up as we go” quality, the episodic tale begins with the electrifying discovery that our moon is being nibbled away. Off blast one strong, silent, furry hero—“Meow”—and a stowaway robot to our nearest celestial neighbor to hook up with the imperious Queen of the Moon and head toward the dark side, past challenges from pirates on the Sea of Tranquility and a sphinx with a riddle (“It weighs a ton, but floats on air. / It’s bald but has a lot of hair.” The answer? “Meow”). They endure multiple close but frustratingly glancing encounters with pizza and finally deliver the malign, multiheaded Rat King and its toothy armies to a suitable fate. Cue the massive pizza party! Aside from one pirate captain and a general back on Earth, the human and humanoid cast in Harris’ loosely drawn cartoon panels, from the appropriately moon-faced queen on, is light skinned. Merch, music, and the original episodes are available on an associated website.

Epic lunacy. (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)

Pub Date: May 10, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-06-308408-7

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022

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A multicultural title with obvious appeal for animal-loving middle graders.

TIGER BOY

When a Bengali boy finds and saves a tiger cub from a man who wants to sell her on the black market, he realizes that the schoolwork he resents could lead to a career protecting his beloved Sunderbans island home.

When the not-yet-weaned cub escapes from a nearby reserve, Neel and many of his neighbors join the search. But some are in the pay of greedy Gupta, a shady entrepreneur who’s recently settled in their community. Even Neel’s father is tempted by Gupta’s money, although he knows that Gupta doesn’t plan to take the cub back to the refuge. Neel and his sister use the boy’s extensive knowledge of the island’s swampy interior to find the cub’s hiding place and lure it out so it can be returned to its mother. The Kolkota-born author visited the remote Sunderbans in the course of her research. She lovingly depicts this beautiful tropical forest in the context of Neel’s efforts to find the cub and his reluctance to leave his familiar world. While the conflicts resolve a bit too easily, the sense of place is strong and the tiger cub’s rescue very satisfying. Pastel illustrations will help readers envision the story.

A multicultural title with obvious appeal for animal-loving middle graders. (author's note, organizations, glossary) (Fiction. 8-11)

Pub Date: April 14, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-58089-660-3

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Charlesbridge

Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015

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