Kennedy and Devon have a sister problem. Two sister problems, in fact. First, they have to share a room and they have absolutely nothing in common. Second, their arguments are exacerbated by the lack of sleep caused by yet a THIRD sister, baby Eve, joining them in their room. Their fights increase until they accidentally break the TV and are doomed to a device-less existence until they can get along. First, they need to get some sleep – which means they have to get Eve to sleep. Which means they have to…. cooperate. Kennedy begins telling a fairy tale, but Devon insists on joining in and Kennedy’s perfect fairy tale is soon invaded by pirates, spiders, and axes. Will the sisters ever learn to work together?
In her debut graphic novel, Federman moves easily between the viewpoints of the two sisters, keeping their voices clearly differentiated with colored speech bubbles as well as exaggerating their different personalities. Kennedy wins math trophies and loves romantic fairy tales – she’s the older sister, slim with a neatly done braid of black hair – and her character Princess Sparklepuff is a typical princess with a lovely mass of curly red hair. Devon, on the other hand, is a short, chunky girl with a messy head of hair, pet tarantula, and a penchant for pirate pantaloons. She insists on introducing a crew of lady pirates, a tall Asian woman, slim Black girl with braids, and a short, chunky blonde with her curly hair in pigtails and a love of axes.
Watched by baby Eve, the two sisters fight, argue, and finally learn to communicate as they work through their story, eventually discovering their enjoy creating stories together and compromising in their stories and in their shared room. The story is humorous and relatable, up to the small house where the three girls share a room and their limited access to devices. There are some stereotypes shown in the parents, with the mom checking on the girls and the dad worrying about “my tv,” and the mom enforcing the discipline. As an adult, I also question why two young girls are being sleep-deprived by the baby, even if they do have very limited space in their home. However, I really appreciated how Kennedy’s obsession with a stereotypical “happily-ever-after” fairy tale, where the princess is rescued and gets married, was handled. Although Devon makes fun of it, her interests being more in the real of a kind of goth-style pirate adventure, Kennedy isn’t dismissed in the story as a whole. Rather, she’s gently guided into realizing there are a whole lot more options outside her narrow formula and it’s more interesting to explore other endings.
Story Spinners By Cassandra Federman Simon & Schuster Aladdin, 2025 ISBN: 9781665918237
Company Age Rating:Â Matheson Memorial Library (public library, open to the public since June 2020)
Brett Baier,, a news anchor for Fox News, has followed the lead of several other political pundits in writing books about history for kids. This is the first title in a series of graphic novels, featuring four time-traveling kids who go back to repair the damage done to history by a mysterious villain.
The middle school students are Thomas, a white boy with an absent single mother, Cam, a biracial girl with Latina roots and a warm heart, Zack, a Black boy who strives for academic perfection, and Becca, a white girl who’s a star athlete with a mom who pushes her to focus on her sports commitments.
Although the story opens with the four frantically trying to set things right at a Cape Canaveral launch in 1961, it quickly jumps back to feature them in a history competition against snobby Hancock Academy. The ill-matched group comes in a close second and is debating their future when a mysterious figure from the future appears and enlists them in the effort to battle a villain who is messing with time.
Their main mission in this book is to deal with History Twister’s interference in the duel between Hamilton and Burr. Under his influence, Hamilton appears to have killed Burr and history is, well, twisted. Despite their doubts, the four head back in time and try to resolve the situation. Unfortunately, there are a lot of problems they have to face, from the dissension within their team to their own feelings for and about Alexander Hamilton, which makes it difficult for them to basically assure his death. After a difficult adventure, the four are closer than ever before—and Thomas has a supportive, present group of friends when his mom is absent, again. The four also have a chance for a rematch against Hancock Academy, but there are hints that this may not be the last time they see them mixed up in history…
The art is brisk and competent, showing lots of action, historical garb, and a limited range of emotions dealt with by the kids in their unusual situation. The historical settings feature mostly browns and natural greens with brighter colors in the contemporary settings. The heroes and villains from the future have a somewhat stereotypical superhero/villain look with form-fitting suits, masks, and technological gadgets.
The general feeling of the book was that the creators made an effort to be historically accurate, but it’s inconsistent throughout the book and doesn’t give a real feel of the time or place. Zack is vocally concerned about traveling back in time, as a Black person, but other than a few efforts to stay out of sight the issue has no effect on the story or characters. Cam, other than a vague statement in support of Zack appears to have no qualms about showing up in the past with brown skin only a few shades lighter than Zack and natural, curly hair. Becca dresses in male clothing, but keeps her name, and Thomas retains his modern glasses. There’s a significant amount of set-up for the story that needs to be packed into 126 pages, but there are a lot of unexplained points that weaken the story.
Despite the drawbacks, the story is brisk and exciting and some effort towards diversity and accuracy has been made, even if it’s not completely successful. Kids who are eager for history-based graphic novels will probably be willing to read this, but there are better options available including Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales, History Comics from First Second, and Matt Loux’s Time Museum, which should be prioritized for purchase over this series.
The History Club: Duel Across Time, Vol. 1 By Bret Baier Art by Marvin Sianipar Simon & Schuster Aladdin, 2024 ISBN: 9781534485594
nothing in common. Second, their arguments are exacerbated by the lack of sleep caused by yet a THIRD sister, baby Eve, joining them in their room. Their fights increase until they accidentally break the TV and are doomed to a device-less existence until they can get along. First, they need to get some sleep – which means they have to get Eve to sleep. Which means they have to…. cooperate. Kennedy begins telling a fairy tale, but Devon insists on joining in and Kennedy’s perfect fairy tale is soon invaded by pirates, spiders, and axes. Will the sisters ever learn to work together?
for kids. This is the first title in a series of graphic novels, featuring four time-traveling kids who go back to repair the damage done to history by a mysterious villain.
