Quiet humor with dashes of goofiness may offset its problems, but Carson’s tale will still work better as a read-aloud than...
Being the “new kid” in the middle of a school year means all sorts of new experiences for 8-year-old Carson Blum.
When his tax-lawyer father takes a new position in El Cerrito, Calif., Carson packs up his stuffed mammal, Moose, and his ditzy Labrador retriever, Genevieve, and waves a reluctant goodbye to his grandparents, his two best friends and his small private school in Pasadena. Public school is quite different, but his teacher, Mr. Lipman, and Carson’s new classmates make him feel welcome. Carson’s just not sure he’ll have a new friend by his birthday to invite horseback riding. He’s also not sure what to make of his classmate Weston Walker, who gets in trouble a lot and seems to tell a lot of whoppers. Carson likes Nancy, who helps him in computer class. He’s also excited to help Patrick take care of Mr. Nibblenose, the class rat. In her newest, Newbery Honor author Jukes (Like Jake and Me, 1984) depicts a warmly affectionate relationship between Carson and his adoptive father. They’re best friends and have in-jokes and no disagreements. Carson’s emotional life is expertly drawn, and readers who’ve found themselves in approximations of his situation will easily identify. However, the length, abundance of complex sentences and slowish pacing make this problematic for early-elementary children, who are most likely to be interested in a novel starring an 8-year-old.
Quiet humor with dashes of goofiness may offset its problems, but Carson’s tale will still work better as a read-aloud than as an independent read. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 13, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-375-85879-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
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
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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