Welcome to a special Summer Comics and Reviews issue of HyattsKIDS! Our editors are Evan LeFevre and Claudia Romero Garvey. To participate, contact adult adviser Mary Frances Jiménez: mf_jimenez@yahoo.com.
Comic byline: Talika Gorski
Movie Review: Luca
By Evan Muynila
Two fins up for Luca!
Luca is a Disney-Pixar movie that was released June 18 on Disney+. It is about two kids that are sea monsters with a big dream to buy a motor scooter.
Luca is a great summer movie because it takes you on a vacation to an Italian port town, with fishing boats, spaghetti, and Vespas! The animations of Luca and his friend transforming into humans were some of the coolest parts.
The movie teaches us that it is okay to be different, so it is a good movie to watch with your family and friends.
TV Review: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
By Dorothy Riggs
“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” is a great family-friendly TV show to watch on Netflix. It is an animated series about strong women, and “She-Ra” also represents the LGBTQ+ community well by including nonbinary and lesbian/gay characters. There is some violence, but nothing graphic. I highly recommend that you watch “She-Ra.” It’s an entertaining and inspirational show for people of any age.
Attraction Review: Amusement Parks
By Claudia Romero Garvey
Many amusement parks have reopened since their pandemic closures, and especially with vaccines now available, tickets have been selling rapidly. My family and I traveled to Orlando, Fla., to visit Universal Studios. Many things were the same as before COVID, such as ride capacity, water parks, and food options. But COVID still caused some differences, including mask requirements on and off rides, social distancing markers, and cancelled large gathering performances. On heavily wet rides, masks were not required. My personal favorite ride was the Escape From Gringotts ride in Universal’s Harry Potter World. The line was not too long, and the ride was a perfect mix of thrill, entertainment, and fear of death.
There are many faraway amusement parks open today such as Walt Disney World and Legoland, but there are also some local and regional ones in the mix, such as Dutch Wonderland, Hershey Park, Kings Dominion, Six Flags, and many more. I LOVE amusement parks, and I am grateful I still got to experience them during COVID, while keeping myself and others safe and healthy.
We in Hyattsville have our own local amusements such as Riversdale Mansion and Park, and an area coming soon called The Spot, which my dad told me about. It sounds like a really fun place for kids and families to eat and hear music, kind of like a local mini amusement park.
Book Review: ‘The Serpent’s Secret’
By Talika Gorski
“The Serpent’s Secret (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond)” is an action-packed fantasy fiction chapter book by Sayantani Dasgupta. Published in 2018 by Scholastic Press, it is aimed at fifth to ninth graders, but fourth graders who love to read about breathtaking adventures will also enjoy this book.
Our story starts with a legend: Long ago, the Moon Maiden and the Serpent King fell in love. The Serpent King persuaded the Maiden to come to his Kingdom and marry him. But she made a condition that she would only visit once a month. Sadly, the Maiden forgot to include a clause about her children, and her first seven sons were turned into snakes.
When her eighth child, a girl, was born, the Moon Maiden decided her daughter would not suffer the same fate as her brothers. She put her daughter in a clay pot and floated her down the River of Dreams. A farmer and his wife found the baby and looked after her. The Serpent King discovered what had happened and tried to claim the baby. An epic and complex struggle follows.
I read “The Serpent’s Secret” in one day because it was so captivating. I liked the fact that Kiranmala is a courageous Indian princess because I am also Indian — and sometimes courageous! I did not enjoy the parts with the demons Rakkosh and Khokkosh, because they eat people and look disgusting. The illustrations in the book are very vivid and add detail to the story.
