Alison Dare, Little Miss Adventures

June 14, 2010
Meet 12-year-old Alison Dare, a youngster with a flair for action and adventure who has a world famous archeologist for a mother (Dr. Alice Dare), a librarian and masked super hero (The Blue Scarab) for a father, and an international spy and master of disguise for an uncle. A collection of three tales reveals Alison’s unique family secrets. First she embarks upon an escapade with a genie inside a magic lamp, as he grants her wish to bring friends—brainiac Wendy and sensible Dot—to visit her in Egypt while mom is on an archeological dig. Then Alison reveals to her friends how her parents met. Finally, Alison helps to stop her mom’s arch enemy, the evil Baron Von Baron (complete with German accent) from stealing a mummy baby from the upcoming local museum exhibit. The fluid, confident B&W art can be detailed, and there’s a lot of dialogue to digest, but they give the sometimes predictable story-line a charm and freshness. Ages 8–12.

September 1, 2010

Gr 4-6-Alison Dare, 12, is impetuous and bossy, and her sidekicks follow the old-fashioned Nancy Drew archetypes of "ditzy and timid but good-hearted" and "tomboyish and frumpy but brave." The initial cast of characters outside of the three girls has little introduction, and struggling readers may have a difficult time following the story lines. In Little Miss Adventures, readers eventually meet Alison and learn her story. The action is more about her archaeologist mom and superhero dad, and because she is introduced late in the text, it's a long wait to find out where she fits in to their exciting world. Kids are likely to be bored or frustrated by that wait. Despite the shaky start, Heart of the Maiden has many entertaining moments (including a run-in with an Evil Elvis as "King Memphis" and a completely believable "he said/she said" account of a mummy's curse). Unfortunately, the black-and-white pen-and-ink cells are cramped and styled for teens rather than the elementary audience these books seem to be trying to engage. For uninitiated graphic-novel readers, they have too much text, which takes the place of action, and the action itself is difficult to follow. Traditional novel fans will find plots filled with holes and main characters who are not particularly likable or easy to relate to. These books would serve best in a collection in which readers are primed for more difficult graphic-novel styles.-Sarah Provence, Churchill Road Elementary School, McLean, VA

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