A strong conclusion best suited for those willing to read it as part of a whole.
The Children of Crow Cove quartet comes to a natural conclusion in this stately, careful finale.
Tiny Crow Cove has grown strong since its founding so many years ago (Crow-Girl, 2004). Now Alek, formerly known as Doup, wishes to see how his beloved, jilted older brother Ravnar is faring in a place called Last Harbor. After traveling there, Alek stays on with Ravnar, finding work in the local inn. A chance sighting of a murder on the beach near his new home brings him into contact with a shipwrecked girl and a crew of murderous thieves. By helping to catch the villains and bring them to justice, Alek is able to find the means to persuade Ravnar to return to Crow Cove at long last. As with previous novels in the series, most recently Tink (2011), a knowledge of the full history of the cove is a must for readers to derive any pleasure from this conclusion. This Danish import is steeped in quiet dignity, never going any faster than the story demands. Some children will find this pace inexorably slow, but for those invested in the characters, Bredsdorff knows how to fulfill the previous novels’ promise, turning her wayward individuals into a vigorous, vibrant community.
A strong conclusion best suited for those willing to read it as part of a whole. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: June 19, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-374-31269-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2012
Eleven-year-old Griffin Bing is “the man with the plan.” If something needs doing, Griffin carefully plans a fix and his best friend Ben usually gets roped in as assistant. When the town council ignores his plan for a skate park on the grounds of the soon-to-be demolished Rockford House, Griffin plans a camp-out in the house. While there, he discovers a rare Babe Ruth baseball card. His family’s money worries are suddenly a thing of the past, until unscrupulous collectables dealer S. Wendell Palomino swindles him. Griffin and Ben plan to snatch the card back with a little help. Pet-lover Savannah whispers the blood-thirsty Doberman. Rock-climber “Pitch” takes care of scaling the house. Budding-actor Logan distracts the nosy neighbor. Computer-expert Melissa hacks Palomino’s e-mail and the house alarm. Little goes according to plan, but everything turns out all right in this improbable but fun romp by the prolific and always entertaining Korman. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-439-90344-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2008
Ordinary kids in an extraordinary setting: still a recipe for bright achievements and belly laughs.
Rejoice! 25 years later, Wayside School is still in session, and the children in Mrs. Jewls’ 30th-floor classroom haven’t changed a bit.
The surreal yet oddly educational nature of their misadventures hasn’t either. There are out-and-out rib ticklers, such as a spelling lesson featuring made-up words and a determined class effort to collect 1 million nail clippings. Additionally, mean queen Kathy steps through a mirror that turns her weirdly nice and she discovers that she likes it, a four-way friendship survives a dumpster dive after lost homework, and Mrs. Jewls makes sure that a long-threatened “Ultimate Test” allows every student to show off a special talent. Episodic though the 30 new chapters are, there are continuing elements that bind them—even to previous outings, such as the note to an elusive teacher Calvin has been carrying since Sideways Stories From Wayside School (1978) and finally delivers. Add to that plenty of deadpan dialogue (“Arithmetic makes my brain numb,” complains Dameon. “That’s why they’re called ‘numb-ers,’ ” explains D.J.) and a wild storm from the titular cloud that shuffles the school’s contents “like a deck of cards,” and Sachar once again dishes up a confection as scrambled and delicious as lunch lady Miss Mush’s improvised “Rainbow Stew.” Diversity is primarily conveyed in the illustrations.
Ordinary kids in an extraordinary setting: still a recipe for bright achievements and belly laughs. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-296538-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
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