A portrait of Abraham Lincoln provides unexpected comfort for 13-year-old Sierra when her father's sudden death leaves her dry-eyed, angry and lonely.
Read full book review >
Unlike many other adoption tales where a new sibling arrives from overseas, Kika is not a baby when she arrives but similar in age and size to Melissa, who eagerly anticipates Kika's arrival.
Read full book review >
"A natural choice for a unit on community as well as sparking a child's own exploration. (Picture book. 5-8)"
A class assignment sends Charlie and his mother on an exploration of the neighborhood in Caseley's (Bully, 2001, etc.) curriculum-oriented offering.
Read full book review >
"Caseley's flat, vaguely primitive art seems simple at first, but it is filled with the details of ordinary life at home and school and lends just the right air of authenticity to the story. (Picture book. 4-7)"
Returning to the characters from Field Day Friday (2000), Caseley offers some sensible advice about handling a bully.
Read full book review >
"Despite his setback, Mickey learns a vital lesson about winning, losing, and the true value of friends. (Picture book. 4-8)"
Caseley (Mickey's Class Play, not reviewed, etc.) continues the (mis)adventures of Mickey, in a poignant tale about winning and losing.
Read full book review >
"In the end, readers know that the Levines will survive, and that Lacey, a particularly memorable character, will be there for them. (Fiction. 12-15)"
A tough, persuasive examination of the devastating effects of divorce on the members of what appeared to be a strong, solid family.
Read full book review >
"This is a good look at life's ups and downs that is never morose—despite the somber title and the jacket painting, in which Dorothy appears to be coping with a terminal illness. (b&w illustrations, not seen) (Fiction. 8-12)"
Caseley's Kane family (Chloe in the Know, 1993, etc.) returns in a series of vignettes about Dorothy's troubles.
Read full book review >
"The resolution comes too easily, cramming all of Jorah's adjustment period into just a few days, but her predicament will still ring true for emerging readers. (Fiction. 7+)"
Caseley (Witch Mama, 1996, etc.) presents a hurried-up, condensed look at the first days of a third-grader in her new home.
Read full book review >
"If there are parts of the country in which an iguana is not as unusual as Mr. Green Peas suggests, it detracts not a whit from this good, light fun. (Picture book. 3-5)"
Norman Slope doesn't know much about pets before he goes to nursery school, and his parents would have been happy if things had stayed that way.
Read full book review >
"Fans of Joanna Hurwitz will take to the Kanes at once and look for more stories about them. (Fiction. 6-8)"
Irrepressible first-grader Harry Kane takes center stage again (Hurricane Harry, 1991) in the fourth book about a suburban family, almost atypical in their normalcy.
Read full book review >
With a new baby, Mama often doesn't know whether she's coming or going: She forgets to defrost the chicken, lets the tub overflow, and complains that she feels ``like a chicken running around without a head.'' Fortunately, Jenna (who's just learning to read) accepts all this with a good humor to match Mama's own; she splashes happily in the water on the bathroom floor, amuses the baby while Mama finds someone to open the car where he's locked in, and philosophically makes the best of several mishaps en route to a birthday party that, after all, will be next week.
Read full book review >
"A class trip to N.Y.C.'s Chinatown, knowledge that her own mother once unwittingly hurt her grandmother's feelings, worry over a crossing-guard's absence—these morsels make up Chloe's world; her triumphs should bring a smile. (Fiction. 7-10)"
Independent-minded Chloe, eldest child of three in the Kane family (Hurricane Harry, 1991, etc.), accompanies her mother through amniocentesis, sticks up for little brother Harry when he's unjustly accused of lying, and admits she's plagiarized a poem for her grandmother's birthday.
Read full book review >
"An inspiring bedtime story, for home or library. (Picture book. 4-8)"
New reader Sophie is enchanted by the bedtime story hour at the library, but can't help thinking little Sammy would have enjoyed it too; unfortunately, Sammy's love of books is still expressed by ripping, throwing, and stepping on them, so their mother didn't let him go.
Read full book review >
"Still, Caseley's second is a more complex book, with subtler nuances—a stronger performance. (Fiction. 14+)"
Zoe Cohen, 15, is struggling with the disruptions in family life caused by her father's severe depression, and with her own inner turmoil over dating.
Read full book review >
"The book doesn't waste much sympathy on the victims, but it may give some kids—and parents—a fresh point of view on their own behavior. (Picture book. 3-7)"
When their mothers take obstreperous Sam and Laura to a library, a restaurant, and a department store, the children are so uproarious that they have to leave each one.
Read full book review >
"Like Hurricane Harry (1990), also about the Kanes, a disappointment from an accomplished picture book creator whose other venture into fiction was a perceptive YA novel, Kisses (1990). (Fiction. 6-10)"
Dorothy has all sorts of problems: middle of three, she has to share a bedroom with her younger brother; when her family moves to a big house, she loses her best friend; and when she transplants some pretty green things in her new backyard they turn out to be poison ivy.
Read full book review >
"There is no sense of Harry's emotional growth; lacking a unifying theme, the book seems like nothing more than a series of funny skits. (Fiction. 6+)"
When five-year-old Harry Kane moves from the city to the suburbs, adventure follows: a classroom mix-up lands him in second grade instead of kindergarten; his turtle, Personality, meets an untimely end in the clothes dryer; Harry has to find a way to get to his grandmother's hospital room to deliver a get-well drawing.
Read full book review >
"The subtext here- -the value of written communication—is disarmingly wrapped in the warmly depicted relationship between generations, nicely extended in the cheerful illustrations. (Picture book. 4-8)"
In describing a correspondence between a child and her grandfather, Caseley deftly outlines the girl's growth.
Read full book review >
Choosing an instrument is only Ada's first problem: it's not easy to make the violin play sweetly; it's hard to learn to play in time; and her sister Ellen says Ada gets a double chin when she plays.
Read full book review >
Thank you! You’ll get the first email of recommendations from our critics within a week!
Bummer. There was a problem adding your email address. Please try again.
Subscribe to Pro Connect
Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.
