Readers graduating from Junie B. to lengthier stories will find a new book-friend in Annie B.
Can “almost-always” best friends get through a rough patch to become “always-always” best friends?
Annie Brown is a writer/inventor (“wrinventor,” according to her wordsmith dad) who writes commercials for products she invents. Her “wrinventions” include Apology Armor (“the kneepads you wear on the days you have to say sorry”) and the Fishlight (a tankless, waterless, and, critically, live-fish–less aquarium that hangs on the wall, inspired by her little brother’s unfortunate curiosity about his pet fish’s squish factor.) However, as sidekick to Savannah Summerlyn, the girl who is “the best at everything,” Annie spends a lot of time in the background. Annie’s opportunity to use her “made-for-TV commercial voice” to showcase her commercial-writing talent comes when she auditions to host The Cat’s Meow, a local web show. But Savannah steals Annie’s audition and wins the spot. Can their friendship survive, or will they become never-again best friends? Annie’s first-person narration is hilariously astute. About the school mascot, the quail, she muses, “When you play another school in basketball, you don’t want to be the bird that gets eaten.” Annie’s friend Jake Ramirez’s surname implies he’s Latino, but all other characters are assumed white.
Readers graduating from Junie B. to lengthier stories will find a new book-friend in Annie B. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: June 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7624-6385-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers who might be miffed at the anti-city, anti-computer bias will be much mollified by hearing the animals’...
Twins Mikey and Jake and their baby sister, Sally, move to the country from the city, with interesting results, in this middle-grade tale touched lightly with fantasy.
Mikey narrates, except for the chapters in which the sheep, the lizards and Emma the rescue dog tell part of the story. Mikey is not at all sure this country business is worth it: no email, no corner store, no dishwasher. “When you don’t want to be someplace, it takes a lot of time to be there.” He talks a lot about missing his cool friend, Justin, and what he might tell him about this strange new life. When a snake turns up, it is Mikey who gets to choose Emma, an Old English sheepdog rescued from a puppy mill, to keep it away. She does, too, and although she is hopeless at the neighbor’s sheep, she does rescue Sally from a muddy drowning. The boys’ plan to get the sheep to mow their lawn is told both from their point of view and that of the sheep, and it is pretty hilarious, especially when both sheep get locked in the car sitting on the horn (don’t ask). Mikey’s efforts at winkling out what his parents mean, exactly, are very much on target, and seeing how adult actions look to the boys is amusing and sometimes wise.
Readers who might be miffed at the anti-city, anti-computer bias will be much mollified by hearing the animals’ conversations, which make it all worthwhile. (Fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61067-050-0
Page Count: 150
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Snow joke.
Does the world, or at least Great Britain, need saving? Call on the hirsute heroes of the Mythical 9th Division!
Not to be confused with their bigfoot rivals of the Yankee 6th Division, three shaggy, squabbling yetis known as Albrecht, Timonen and Saar are first responders when Britain calls for rescue. This time, the sudden disappearance of Wales beneath a fast-moving glacier brings the tufted trio flying in from Tibet to face evil mastermind Balaclava, aka Dr. Icepick—who has built a gigantic weather machine atop appropriately named Mount Snowdon and is holding the entire planet hostage for a ransom of $1 trillion. Can the pilose protectors penetrate Balaclava’s icy fortress, fend off his army of laser-wielding robots and (with, perhaps, a spot of help from a Welsh mum and a crew of miners) put paid to the evil scheme? Do you doubt? With occasional breaks for labeled looks at high-tech gear or scenes presented in cinematic sequential panels, Milway (Mousehunter, 2009) crafts a lickety-split set of chases, battles, captures and escapes culminating in the villain’s (presumed) death, the device’s destruction and a lot of defrosted victims. The author notes in a postscript that there actually are eight other mythical divisions, leaving plenty of fodder for sequels.
Snow joke. (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61067-074-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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