by Elvira Woodruff ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1994
Saddled with a boastful stepbrother he dubs ``Mr. Gifted,'' Andy's self-esteem has evaporated until he touches a mummy case. Somehow galvanized, he creates a brilliant mummy painting that elicits gasps of admiration, makes wishes that seem to come true, and substantially improves his grades. Is Andy being helped by the mummy's ka (soul), or is he helping himself? The story can be read either way. Woodruff lays on her serious themes with a heavy hand (Andy describes at length his feelings about himself, other characters, and his dead mother), but she has a delicious way with comedy: Andy's torn between wishing for baseball cards or world peace, and his best friend's Egypt project is a hamster mummy reverently laid out in a Cracker Jack box complete with the unwrapped prize as ``a supreme gesture of respect.'' Predictable but likable, though the premise has been mined with more suspenseful results (e.g., in McMullan's Under the Mummy's Spell, 1993). (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-590-45742-X
Page Count: 134
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1994
Share your opinion of this book
More by Elvira Woodruff
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Elvira Woodruff & illustrated by Adam Rex
BOOK REVIEW
by Julia Alvarez ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
Share your opinion of this book
More by Julia Alvarez
BOOK REVIEW
by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Raúl Colón
BOOK REVIEW
by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Sabra Field
BOOK REVIEW
by Kirkpatrick Hill ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2000
In 1948 the unorthodox Miss Agnes arrives to teach the children of an Athabascan Indian Village in remote Alaska. Ten-year-old Fred (Fredrika) matter-of-factly narrates this story of how a teacher transformed the school. Miss Agnes’s one-room schoolhouse is a progressive classroom, where the old textbooks are stored away first thing upon her arrival. The children learn to read using handmade books that are about their own village and lives: winter trapping camps, tanning moose hides, fishing, and curing the catch, etc. Math is a lesson on how not to get cheated when selling animal pelts. These young geographers learn about the world on a huge map that covers one whole schoolhouse wall. Fred is pitch-perfect in her observations of the village residents. “Little Pete made a picture of his dad’s trapline cabin . . . He was proud of that picture, I could tell, because he kept making fun of it.” Hill (Winter Camp, 1993, etc.) creates a community of realistically unique adults and children that is rich in the detail of their daily lives. Big Pete is as small and scrappy, as his son Little Pete is huge, gentle, and kind. Fred’s 12-year-old deaf sister, Bokko, has her father’s smile and has never gone to school until Miss Agnes. Charlie-Boy is so physically adept at age 6 that he is the best runner, thrower, and catcher of all the children. These are just a few of the residents in this rural community. The school year is not without tension. Will Bokko continue in school? Will Mama stay angry with Miss Agnes? And most important, who will be their teacher after Miss Agnes leaves? A quiet, yet satisfying account. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-82933-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2000
Share your opinion of this book
More by Kirkpatrick Hill
BOOK REVIEW
by Kirkpatrick Hill ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham
BOOK REVIEW
by Kirkpatrick Hill illustrated by LeUyen Pham
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.