Readers may be on the fence as to whether or not to wish for a teacher like Ms. Spell, but regardless, this may boost...
Step aside Ms. Frizzle. The pink-haired Ms. Spell has spelling to teach, and unlike her science-teaching peer, her lessons aren’t particularly calm or disaster-free.
During a brief review before a surprise spelling test, Ms. Spell asks various students to spell some common problem words—“their,” “were,” “two”—which they spell incorrectly. It’s a teaching opportunity, of course, and she follows up with the students by asking them to correctly use the words in sentences, which her magic wand then makes manifest: “A giant chocolate cake is sitting over THERE!” results in an enormous pastry; “These TWO boys are crazy flying monkeys with laser beams shooting out their eyes” yields a particularly exciting transformation. The principal and the word “went” put paid to the magical nonsense, but hopefully the lessons learned will stick with the students, and readers too: the differences among the homophones, the “I before E” rule, and a bit about contractions and silent letters. Long’s digital illustrations add to the zaniness of the classroom situation, especially those monkeys. The endpapers add to the lesson with some commonly misspelled words, steps for studying, memory aids, and a few rules.
Readers may be on the fence as to whether or not to wish for a teacher like Ms. Spell, but regardless, this may boost t-h-e-i-r spelling grades. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3292-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
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It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Most children will agree the book is “smafunderful (smart + fun + wonderful).” (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)
In this entertaining chapter book, the first in a series, readers meet kind Sir Sidney and the gentle performers and hands in his circus. But Sir Sidney is tired and leaves the circus under the management of new-hire Barnabas Brambles for a week.
That Sir Sidney is beloved by all is quickly established, presenting a sharp contrast to the bully Brambles. The scoundrel immediately comes up with a “to do” list that includes selling the animals and eliminating the mice Bert and Gert. (Gert is almost more distressed by Brambles’ ill-fitting suit and vows to tailor it.) Revealed almost entirely through dialogue, the put-upon animals’ solidarity is endearing. The story, like the circus train now driven by the Famous Flying Banana Brothers, takes absurd loops and turns. The art is fully integrated, illustrating the action and supplementing the text with speech bubbles, facsimile letters and posters, Brambles’ profit-and-loss notes, examples of Gert’s invented vocabulary and more. Brambles’ plans go awry, of course, and he gets his comeuppance. With Bert and Gert acting as his conscience, along with a suit from Gert that finally fits and a dose of forgiveness, Brambles makes a turnaround. Sensitive children may doubt Sir Sidney’s wisdom in leaving his animals with an unscrupulous man, and the closing message is a tad didactic, but that doesn’t blunt the fun too much.
Most children will agree the book is “smafunderful (smart + fun + wonderful).” (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61620-244-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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