Not exactly a heaping helping of words and art, but handsomely designed and rich in the sort of observations that will...
Broadly daubed, semiabstract views of children and animals illustrate 10 short, reflective lyrics by an Argentinean poet.
“All that I have is a lot: / my dog Oliver, / wind hitting me in the face / and your laughter that explodes for no reason.” Placed beneath their Spanish originals on cream-colored pages, the translated poems speak in relatively simple language and imagery. They imagine a rooster and a hen orbiting each other, wading toes as little fish, the son and moon daydreaming together, a street like a tree’s trunk with roots and blossoms extending tantalizingly out of sight in different directions. Using markers, linocuts and other media, Iranian artist Zahedi offers fanciful but recognizable views of each poem’s subject and speaker. Smudgily reminiscent of Chris Raschka's work, the little dreamscapes are marvels of micro-composition and color.
Not exactly a heaping helping of words and art, but handsomely designed and rich in the sort of observations that will attract readers for whom silence is “louder than noise.” (Poetry. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55498-158-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 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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