DISPLAY: Matthew Kirby

Author Matthew Kirby will be visiting the Provo City Library on Wednesday, August 30, at 7:00 to talk about his latest books. Why not get ready for his visit by reading some of his great children’s fantasy/science fiction?

The Clockwork Three
By Matthew Kirby
Scholastic Press, 2010. Fiction. 391 p.
As mysterious circumstances bring Giuseppe, Frederick, and Hannah together, their lives soon interlock like the turning gears in a clock and they realize that each one holds a key to solving the others' mysteries.

Icefall
By Matthew Kirby
Scholastic, 2011. Fiction. 325 p.
Princess Solveig and her siblings are trapped in a hidden fortress tucked between towering mountains and a frozen fjord, along with her best friend and an army of restless soldiers, all awaiting news of the king's victory in battle, but as they wait for winter's end and the all-encompassing ice to break, acts of treachery make it clear that a traitor lurks in their midst.

The Lost Kingdom
By Matthew Kirby
Scholastic, 2013. Fiction. 348 p.
On the eve of the French and Indian War, Billy Bartram and his naturalist father travel into the American wilderness in an airship--pursued by a party of French soldiers and haunted by a terrifying bear-wolf--on a quest to find the lost kingdom of the Welsh prince Madoc.

Spell Robbers
(The Quantum League #1)
By Matthew Kirby
Scholastic Press, 2014. Fiction. 263 p.
Ben Warner is invited to join a "science camp" led by a quantum physicist Dr. Madeleine Hughes, and with his new friend Peter he discovers the secret art of Actuation--the ability to change reality by imagining it differently--but he also finds that there are people willing to kill for that secret.

The Arctic Code
(The Dark Gravity Sequence #1)
HarperCollins, 2015. Fiction. 324 p.
The Earth is in the grip of a new Ice Age, and when twelve-year-old Eleanor's scientist mother disappears in the Arctic, Eleanor sets off on a dangerous journey to find her--and uncovers a mystery, a crime, and evidence that Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials.

Island of the Sun
(The Dark Gravity Sequence #2)
By Matthew Kirby HarperCollins, 2016. Fiction. 369 p.
Desperately searching for the other Concentrators that are fatally disrupting Earth's orbit, Eleanor and her companions are labeled as terrorists by G.E.T. forces that would eliminate all but a few select people.

Rogue World
(The Dark Gravity Sequence #3)
By Matthew Kirby
HarperCollins, 2017. Fiction. 400 p.
After the shattering new discoveries they made in Egypt, Eleanor and her friends unite in the desperate hope of saving the entire planet. They are preparing for a trek to the icy Himalayas, where they believe they’ll find the Master Concentrator and get a chance to end the threat of the rogue planet—one way or the other.

Comments

Review: Super Boba Cafe

Super Boba Café By Nidhi Chanani New York: Amulet Books, 2023. Comics. 215 pages. 14-year-old Aria is excited to spend her summer in San Francisco getting quality time with her Nainai. She loves helping at her grandmother's Super Boba Café. But she can't help but notice that her grandmother is acting strange and secretive. She refuses to let Aria into the kitchen at all and she disappears at the same time each night without telling Aria where she goes. Meanwhile, Aria is eager to drum up more business for Super Boba Café. She gets a major windfall when the shop cat, Bao, surprises them by having kittens, and Aria realizes this is a major social media opportunity. She knows this will help Nainai's shop, but she is apprehensive to get back on social media after a terrible cyberbullying experience she had back home. As the shop starts to get busier, Nainai is more and more anxious about her secret project. This prompts Aria to investigate with help from her Nainai's neighb...

Funny Farm by Mark Teague 2009

There are things I liked about Mark Teague's newest book, Funny Farm , and things I didn't like. Where should I start? I'll do the "didn'ts" first. The illustrations show animals personified. Well, some of the animals are. The main characters, Edward, and his farm family relatives, all dogs, are humanized. They stand upright, do farm chores, eat at a table, wear clothes, knit (yes, with paws) and sleep in beds. Most everybody else on and around the farm, who are also animals, act like animals. They are outside, roll in mud, live in the barn, and require care from their owners. It struck me the most on the page spread where there are pigs playing in puddle in the rain and Edward, a black and white boxer, watches from inside the house. I thought "You're a dog! Go play with them!" But, alas, he can't, seeing as how he goes through his entire visit to the farm wearing a suit and red bow tie. Another picture that bothered me was the maple syrup pa...

Review: The Mixed-Up Owl

The Mixed-Up Owl Written by Marzena Sowa Illustrated by Joanna Lorno New York : Hippo Park, 2025. Picture Book. When Owl can't sleep at night, he heads off to see if any forest animals can help him understand why, and even more so, how to fix it! Unfortunately, all the animals Owl runs into at night are asleep and all the animals he meets during the day are too rude or too busy to answer him. Will Owl give up or will a chance meeting with a grumpy hedgehog provide all the solutions Owl was looking for? The premise of an owl trying to stay awake during the day because all the other animals around him do is very fun. Kids who know that owls are nocturnal will get a kick out of Owl's confusion and be quick to try to tell him what's going on. Readers who don't know many facts about owls (or nocturnal animals in general) will get a brief introduction to the different ways animals sleep. The illustrations are charming, especially cute Owl and his expressive body langua...

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