HOW TO BE A REAL PERSON (IN JUST ONE DAY)

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HOW TO BE A REAL PERSON (IN JUST ONE DAY)

Name: HOW TO BE A REAL PERSON (IN JUST ONE DAY)
Author: Sally Warner
ISBN: 0-375-80434-X

by Sally Warner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2001

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Warner (Totally Confidential, p. 805, etc.) here serves up a touching novel about a gritty and determined young girl who tries to cope with her mother’s mental illness all alone. Because of her partly self-imposed isolation, Kara doesn’t feel real and suffers in silence by pretending all is well. She confides in neither her father, who has taken a job in another city; her friends; nor any of her teachers. What she does do, however, is make lists about “how to be a real person”; she also watches what others do in order to copy their “real” ways and to make believe her life is normal, though her mother gets progressively worse. Kara’s greatest salvation through her worst travails, whether at home or at school, is to retreat mentally to Lonely Island, based on Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins, a book she has read and treasured many times. Here Kara attempts to escape, however temporarily, from the crushing loneliness of her life and from the secret she dares not reveal. While the ending is a trifle pat, young readers will get caught up in Kara’s dilemma and admire her strength under adversity. Very likely this novel will strike a responsive chord among readers who believe they have to handle family problems by themselves. (Fiction. 10-12)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-375-80434-X

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
ABSOLUTELY ALFIE AND THE PRINCESS WARS
by Sally Warner illustrated by Shearry Malone

- BOOK REVIEW
ABSOLUTELY ALFIE AND THE FURRY, PURRY SECRET
by Sally Warner ; illustrated by Shearry Malone

- BOOK REVIEW
ELLRAY JAKES WALKS THE PLANK
by Sally Warner & illustrated by Jamie Harper

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KEVIN AND HIS DAD

by Irene Smalls ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999

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There is something profoundly elemental going on in Smalls’s book: the capturing of a moment of unmediated joy. It’s not melodramatic, but just a Saturday in which an African-American father and son immerse themselves in each other’s company when the woman of the house is away. Putting first things first, they tidy up the house, with an unheralded sense of purpose motivating their actions: “Then we clean, clean, clean the windows,/wipe, wipe, wash them right./My dad shines in the windows’ light.” When their work is done, they head for the park for some batting practice, then to the movies where the boy gets to choose between films. After a snack, they work their way homeward, racing each other, doing a dance step or two, then “Dad takes my hand and slows down./I understand, and we slow down./It’s a long, long walk./We have a quiet talk and smile.” Smalls treats the material without pretense, leaving it guileless and thus accessible to readers. Hays’s artwork is wistful and idyllic, just as this day is for one small boy. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-316-79899-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
MY POP POP AND ME
by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson

- BOOK REVIEW
MY NANA AND ME
by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson

- BOOK REVIEW
DON’T SAY AIN’T
by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Colin Bootman

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RAMONA'S WORLD

by Beverly Cleary ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 1999

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Ramona returns (Ramona Forever, 1988, etc.), and she’s as feisty as ever, now nine-going-on-ten (or “zeroteen,” as she calls it). Her older sister Beezus is in high school, baby-sitting, getting her ears pierced, and going to her first dance, and now they have a younger baby sister, Roberta. Cleary picks up on all the details of fourth grade, from comparing hand calluses to the distribution of little plastic combs by the school photographer. This year Ramona is trying to improve her spelling, and Cleary is especially deft at limning the emotional nuances as Ramona fails and succeeds, goes from sad to happy, and from hurt to proud. The grand finale is Ramona’s birthday party in the park, complete with a cake frosted in whipped cream. Despite a brief mention of nose piercing, Cleary’s writing still reflects a secure middle-class family and untroubled school life, untouched by the classroom violence or the broken families of the 1990s. While her book doesn’t match what’s in the newspapers, it’s a timeless, serene alternative for children, especially those with less than happy realities. (Fiction. 8-12)