A less-strident Mandy would be welcome if she makes any further appearances.
Second-grader Mandy (her mother thinks it’s “Amanda”) has strong opinions about everything, including her name.
Whether it’s her love of the color periwinkle or her disdain for the color pink, Mandy holds firm to her opinions. She tries to love her baby twins, Samantha and Cody, but they are always “damp,” and she barely tolerates her little brother Timmy. As the oldest child, she feels she can be the boss of the family. She loves Rainbow Sparkle, a cartoon cat with a TV show of her own, and she wants to be George Washington in her class’s Presidential Pageant. She really does not like her new nickname, “Polka Dot,” which is what her classmate Dennis calls her after her polka-dot underwear showed through the awful white pants her mother forced her to wear. Eventually, and a little too neatly, all is resolved: Mandy finally appreciates her roles in the class pageant, with her former nemesis, Natalie, and in her very own family. Readers of the Clementine series will find similarities, especially the first-person narration that gives readers a front-row seat into Mandy’s brain. However, it’s hard to find much to like in this whiny 8-year-old until the very end.
A less-strident Mandy would be welcome if she makes any further appearances. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-8393-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A foodie’s delight, with a sweet message between the layers.
It’s all about the yum in this tale from Tosi, founder of Milk Bar, a chain of bakeries.
Now that his mom and dad are living apart, young Phil finds that his delectable double chocolate cake isn’t the same when he prepares it with just one parent at a time. Nor does making brownies with one and s’mores with the other quite butter the biscuit. His peanut butter cookie–making partner, Sammi, tells him that “every cake has a story. And sometimes stories change.” That sends him to the grocery store for inspiration and leads to a mouthwatering epiphany: “A Chocolate Brownie PB S’mores layer cake!” "New could be exciting and special,” enthuses the author before closing with a challenging but feasible recipe (with the suggestion to torch the top properly left for grown-up sous-chefs). Reinforcing the upbeat tone and positive outlook in this tale of family changes, Balsley’s cartoon illustrations depict a young patissier presenting the very picture of culinary self-confidence as he bustles about two kitchens while his parents look on affectionately and lend an occasional willing ear or hand. This one is best when dished up with sweets and a napkin, like all the better pastry-centered picture books. Phil and his father are tan-skinned, Mom is brown-skinned, and Sammi is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A foodie’s delight, with a sweet message between the layers. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9780593110713
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Bland pictures and superficial presentation sink this problem-solver. Feeling slighted by new neighbor Jeremy, the aggrieved young narrator accepts his father’s offer to make an “enemy pie.” Dad insists on doing the baking, but tells the lad that the recipe also requires spending a day playing with the enemy—after which, predictably, the two lads sit down as newly minted friends for pie à la mode. Though the narrator speculates about the pie’s ingredients, the promisingly gross worm-and-weed dishes on the cover never materialize in the illustrations inside, nor are any of Jeremy’s supposed offenses depicted. Instead, King shows the boys in a series of conventional, static scenes, throwing water balloons at girls and other fun activities. Meanwhile, Dad’s fixed, knowing smile invites viewers to share the conceit—even though his naïve son never does catch on. And is Jeremy really so hostile? He displays so little individual character that it’s hard to get a read on him; he just seems to be going with the flow. Invite readers to order up a bowl of Betsy Everitt’s Mean Soup (1992) instead, or a slice of Margie Palatini’s Piggie Pie (1995). (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8118-2778-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
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