A sweet and tidy friendship story that will make readers want to join this inclusive circus family.
The circus has a funny way of bringing people together, as four 12-year-olds discover.
When Mario is forced to stay with his abuela in New Mexico for the summer as punishment for using credit cards without permission, she enrolls him in a local circus camp. There he meets aerialist Luna, who’s struggling with body shaming from Cosmos, her nonbinary parent who’s the camp director; Betina, who tries to go unnoticed, believing that invisibility is “her superpower,” but discovers a passion for clowning; and Ricky, who despite having the clumsy energy of a puppy is drawn to walking on stilts. When they learn that the circus camp is being evicted and will probably close, this unlikely quartet realizes that if they work together, they might be able to save the day. This well-paced story offers a fun setting that includes unicycles, hula hoops, and other circus trappings, plus a group of appealing kids who learn more about themselves while getting to know each other. As Luna says, “Circus is the one place where everyone belongs.” Diaz thoughtfully explores a variety of issues, including how Mario feels ignored by his parents and how Ricky, who presents with neurodivergent traits, struggles with how the world perceives him. Luna, Mario, and Betina are Latine, and Ricky reads white.
A sweet and tidy friendship story that will make readers want to join this inclusive circus family. (Spanish and Portuguese glossary) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781665966894
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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