A promising and funny debut.
One little lie can’t hurt…it wasn’t even told on purpose!
Sixth-grader Stu Truly accidentally staples his finger to his history assignment when new girl Becca meets his eyes for the first time. But it wasn’t locking eyes with her that caused the stapling incident, because a “new girl at school [is] about as interesting as, well, another girl in school,” right? Then why does it feel as if there is a “zombie warlord in [his] chest” trying to escape whenever he has to interact with Becca? And why, oh why, does he tell her his family is vegetarian like hers—especially since his dad (and his grandfather before that) is a butcher?! Stu can’t seriously, um, like her, can he? And how can he compete with tall, muscle-y, nice-guy Jackson? (Does Stu even want to?) And now his father has a harebrained idea to have a float in the Irrigation Festival parade to promote the family butcher shop, with Stu dressed like a slab of ribs; Becca will discover his lie for sure now. Richards’ first novel utterly charmingly and convincingly depicts a boy’s first crush on a female peer. Stu’s confusion at his own actions leaps off the page, and many readers will identify. The supporting cast consists of everyday kids, and Stu realistically deals with the repercussions of his lie. The book subscribes to the white default.
A promising and funny debut. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: July 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0646-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Yellow Jacket
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Heartwarming fare for young pet owners who feel the love and loyalty going both ways.
Devotion permeates this tale of a small dog who’s swept up in a peasants’ revolt against a greedy king.
Inflamed with righteousness in the wake of yet another tax hike, 12-year-old Tom has defied his parents to slip away and join the revolutionary Reds. Stoutly declaring that he’s a good dog, 5-year-old Rebel chases after him to bring his beloved boy back—and discovers a wide new world beyond the farm, fraught with dangers but also rich in animal friends offering help and advice. Just as beguiling as the furry narrator’s dog’s-eye view of events are his ongoing arguments with Jaxon, a gruff feral hound he meets along the way, who urges him to find his wild inner True Dog. Jaxon’s refusal to be bound by emotional attachments ultimately clashes with Rebel’s big, uncomplicated heart. Following a brush with death, Rebel encounters a mystical Companion, who offers him glimpses of dog heaven; when the climactic battle arrives, Rebel declares, “I get to decide what I do with my one and only life. And if I use it for anything, I’m going to use it for love.” The author brings the odyssey to a satisfactory conclusion with one last, pure affirmation of love. In this story set in an alternate Britain reminiscent of its 17th-century Civil War, Rebel distinguishes humans in the cast by their voices, smell, and dress.
Heartwarming fare for young pet owners who feel the love and loyalty going both ways. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781536246797
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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