On the third full moon of the year, the MEOW (Memories Expressed in Our Writing) Society meets so cats from all over the world can get together to share their diaries and those of their ancestors. Fuzzy tells of her first Christmas tree and the perfect shiny red bauble that causes her a lot of trouble. Chico, the world’s smallest cat, tells his story of stopping a crime in Spanish (with subtitles). Go-Go, the star of a series of picture books, creates a scene at an author signing. Miu the Great Cat of ancient Egypt, learns there IS value in the slobbery Abu, the Royal Dog. And Library Cat learns about himself and his people’s history at storytime. Byars and her daughters Myers and Duffey follow Dog Diaries (2007) with a collection of feline short stories sure to please cats and the people who love them. Brooks’s black-and-white cagy, cute and cool kitties decorate nearly every page. A great choice for newly independent readers or sharing with groups and a terrific lead-in to Esther Averill’s stories about Jenny Linsky. (Animal fantasy. 6-10)
Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8717-8
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2010
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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