October 7, 2024
To prove he’s mature enough to visit
the mainland like his older brother, eight-year-old Dak doubles his chore load, which includes the stinkiest job on his family’s farm: scooping llama poop for fertilizer and fire fuel. He’s soon approached by Fenn, the mysterious, purple-haired girl who lives with the monks next door, and her talking purple llama, Lucy, who request Dak’s help in tracking down magic stones scattered across the kingdom. The first, a fire stone, is guarded by a family of dragons who will only talk to children because they “make the best humans.” To get it back, the self-dubbed Team Llama Quest must fetch frost flowers to cure the dragons of fire sickness. But the trio aren’t the only ones to have made this deal, and time isn’t on their side. Reyes (the Heroes of Havensong series) employs fast-paced storytelling to highlight Fenn and Dak’s adventurousness and bravery while gradually revealing world details via fluid and flexible third-person text. Animated spot illustrations by Davault (Misfit Mansion) emphasize the characters’ emotions and body language, elevating the suspense and stakes. Dak and his family have brown skin; Fenn reads as white. Ages 6–9. Author’s agent: Jenniea Carter, New Leaf Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Britt Siess, Britt Siess Creative.
November 1, 2024
When adventure calls, a youngster leaves his parents' llama farm and sets out on a quest. While shoveling llama poop one day, brown-skinned 8-year-old Dak Evans notices a pale-skinned, bespectacled, purple-haired girl nearby. Lucy, a llama owned by the monks at the temple next door, awakens him that night and leads him to meet the girl, an aspiring wizard named Fenn, but it's Lucy--apparently a magical creature with great powers--who announces that Dak will need to help save everyone from danger. She tells him of a lengthy war fought over magic stones that were later hidden in the monks' temple. The Kingdom of Ravenwood has been peaceful ever since. But the stones have been stolen, and so the journey to find them, and the thief, begins. Dak's grit and yen for adventure have caught Lucy's eye, and she chooses him and Fenn to be her companions. But it won't be easy: Their search for the first stone takes them to a den full of fire-breathing dragons. The narrative incorporates common fantasy tropes--teleportation, magic shields--but the overall threat feels too vague to be truly menacing. While the book contains little internal conflict and the worldbuilding isn't especially original, it has enough action to entice newcomers to the genre. Human characters are drawn as standard cartoon types in the grayscale art, but the dragons are impressive, and Lucy is adorable. Solid, though familiar, fantasy fare for readers not quite ready for Tolkien. (map, excerpt from Fenn's creature journal, questions and activities)(Fantasy. 6-9)
COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
October 18, 2024
Grades 1-4 Dak Evans is known on his family's farm as an excellent llama poop-scooper, but he knows he can be so much more. An opportunity presents itself in the form of Lucy the llama looming over his bed, and upon returning the wayward animal to the temple next door, he gets the surprise of his life: Lucy can talk, and she needs his help to recover the recently stolen Magic Stones of Ravenwood before their misuse leads to catastrophic conflict. A bewildered Dak finds himself on a curious crusade that will show all the participants just how far they're willing to go to help others--and each other. The first intriguing installment in the Llama Quest series constructs a world filled with magic and mystery, offering moments both lighthearted and suspenseful. Adorable artwork and brisk pacing will hook young readers, and an open ending leaves room for future escapades. An engrossing adventure extolling hard work and helpfulness that reminds readers they don't have to do it all on their own.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.