A promising beginning to a new series about a spirited character who is discovering her real strengths.
Clara's superpowers include being able to spill things, communicate telepathically with her chinchilla, and wake up at 7:14 every morning, but will they be enough to stop her life from being ruined?
When the track team from a rival school causes mayhem at a meet, Clara and her teammates are angry. When the rival school discovers mold in its walls and the students must join them at Gledhill Elementary, they're even angrier. To make matters worse, Clara discovers that her neighbor and best friend, Momo, is moving to a retirement community. Luckily, Clara has the solution. She and her other best friend, Bradley, get to work strengthening Clara's superpowers in order to drive their rivals from their school and keep Momo's house from being sold. But is it working? Humphrey introduces a new series with an energetic romp through the trials and tribulations of this 9-year-old and her friends. (Clara seems to depict herself and Bradley as white in her pictures; ethnicity is indicated with surnames.) Her characters are funny and flawed and a good antidote to the feeling most kids (and adults!) will find familiar: that the world is out of their control. Illustrations of Clara's comic-book alter ego, @Cat, give the book an extra entertaining element.
A promising beginning to a new series about a spirited character who is discovering her real strengths. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77147-147-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
An endearing, deeply moving story of healing.
A runaway former shelter dog and an orphaned cheetah cub bond in friendship.
Chase the cheetah cub, grieving for her mother, is nurtured and bottle-fed by zoo employee Basma Abdallah. Finnegan the dog, injured by a fox after being chased off by his angry former owner, is found and cared for by Basma’s partner, Ryan. Warga’s gentle tale of animal comradeship focuses firmly on the experiences of each animal protagonist, letting their personalities inform the story. Finnegan’s memories of his previous home are tinged with internalized guilt after being labeled a “bad dog.” He’s amusingly food-focused and knows a bit about the world from watching television and seeing pictures in books. He dislikes cats and has opinions about rabbits and squirrels. When Basma brings Finnegan with her to work at the zoo, he overcomes his feline aversions and warms to the cub, finding her puffy baby fur and clumsiness appealing. The friendship between the creatures is warmly empathetic. Finnegan takes a benign, big-brotherly role, encouraging Chase to trust Basma’s clicker training, part of a demonstration for zoo audiences to support the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Chase, in her turn, reminds Finnegan that he’s cared for and that she’s his friend and part of his family. To’s soft, tender black-and-white illustrations perfectly complement the sweet, sometimes heart-wrenching narrative. Basma is cued Palestinian American, and Ryan reads white.
An endearing, deeply moving story of healing. (animal facts, author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781250387189
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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