Even the most wayward child readers would agree that Mandy needs stronger adult direction.
Eight-year-old Mandy is back, as bossy and insecure as ever (Don’t Wear Polka-Dot Underwear with White Pants, 2013).
In the second installment in this chapter-book series, Mandy’s friendship with Anya is in jeopardy. Goody-goody Natalie steals Mandy’s thunder again—this time by breaking her wrist. Their teacher assigns Anya to be Natalie’s assistant, which leaves little time for Mandy and Anya to play. Mandy’s jealous reaction to seeing Anya with another friend is to retreat, pout and be, as her mother says, a “crankypants.” Mandy’s behavior threatens to overwhelm the book right from the beginning. In the first chapter alone, she eats a bit out of each piece of pizza in the box, calls her father a “bad babysitter,” demands gummy bears and “fancy-dancy periwinkle sunglasses” of her grandmother, and calls her little brother “stupid.” It’s easy to see why she clings to Anya so fiercely, but this does not make Mandy any more likable. Young readers might learn a little from Mandy, but it’s unlikely that they would choose her as a friend. More likely, they will empathize with poor Anya, pulled between a smothering BFF and a new buddy. The all-too-simple resolution is a relief, but it’s also completely unbelievable.
Even the most wayward child readers would agree that Mandy needs stronger adult direction. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: March 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-8396-5
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Funny, silly, and fairly empathetic—and perhaps even consoling to young, impulsive people who hope to be better (someday).
The portrait of a boy as a young rascal: Iggy doesn’t really mean to be “bad,” does he?
A narrator in an amusing direct address and somewhat adult voice serves as both apologist and somewhat bemused observer of three incidents recounted in 20 very short chapters. Iggy Frangi is 9 and in fourth grade. He likes his teacher and tolerates his family—mother, father, sisters Maribel (older) and Molly (younger). Like many people his age, Iggy doesn’t realize that something is wrong with what he is doing until either he is in the middle of doing it (and is reprimanded) or until it’s too late. Ricks’ cartoon illustrations portray Iggy and his family as white-presenting and his lively friends as slim boys with dark skin of various shades. In the first story Iggy defends his own honor and dignity with a strategy involving a skateboard, ladder, and trampoline in a way that only just avoids complete disaster. In the second, Iggy’s flair for going big gets slightly out of hand when he “los[es] his mind” in an incident involving shaving cream and lipstick. The third story involves his teacher and a minor injury and is an incident Iggy regrets “even years later.” Authorial asides combine with amusing cartoons (the universal strikethrough symbol is enlivened by repetitions of “nope” forming the outer circle) to enlist readers as co-conspirators.
Funny, silly, and fairly empathetic—and perhaps even consoling to young, impulsive people who hope to be better (someday). (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-1330-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
Gentle, encouraging, witty fantasy that may soothe readers suffering from climate anxiety.
Children with magical talking steam trains are thrilled by their clever new plan to rescue endangered animals.
Eleven-year-old Kate absolutely adores her secret job—helping animals in need by using the magical locomotive that was a gift from her billionaire wizard uncle. Kate loves riding the Silver Arrow with Uncle Herbert; her brother, Tom; and the talking animals they escort to safe places. But now Uncle Herbert is missing, 9-year-old Tom seems more interested in hapkido than their supernatural train, and Kate’s struggling socially and academically thanks to her eco-anxiety. No matter how many animals she helps, no matter how many adults proclaim that climate change is a critical issue, the environment keeps getting worse. One night Kate discovers another train driving on the magical railroad: The Golden Swift is conducted by her classmate Jag, who thinks rescuing stranded creatures isn’t sufficiently radical. When Kate joins him, she feels more inspired and more righteous than ever before. This time, she’s actually making the world better! Kate’s unhappy discoveries of unintended consequences and the moral complexities of her activism are softened by humor. The snarky banter of the talking locomotive is an understated delight, as is the train constructed with, among others, candy and ice cream cars, an invisible car, and a dojo car. Kate and Tom are White; Jag is described as having dark skin and black hair and possibly being Indian. Charming illustrations enhance the text.
Gentle, encouraging, witty fantasy that may soothe readers suffering from climate anxiety. (Fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: May 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-28354-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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