Comfortably low-key, character-driven entertainment.
An amiable fifth grader’s school assignment leads her to seek out the father she’s never known.
Lola and her single mom occupy a mobile home in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, owned by elderly neighbor and friend Ms. Archambault. All Lola knows about her Australian dad is his name and that, having overstayed his tourist visa, he was deported before her birth. Momma’s uncomfortable talking about him and, lately, too tired to do much beyond her evening restaurant job. Lola’s friends include classmates Kiana, her BFF, and friendly Nick (but not unfriendly, universally disliked Mallory). Tiffany, 5, whom Lola reads to on the school bus; Ms. A, who cares for Lola after school; Kiana’s parents; and Nick’s sister, Kat, are Lola fans, too. A class assignment—to imagine who they’d be under different life circumstances—reminds Lola how little she knows of her own history, prompting her to attempt connecting with her father. Kiana, Nick, and Kat are happy to help, but Lola avoids telling Momma, now sidelined by a serious illness. The characters are well drawn and believable, although John avoids naming race or even physical descriptions, reinforcing a white default reading. Cheerful Lola’s refreshing: a well-liked, kind, sensible kid with a droll take on the world. If the ending feels pat, the resolution too easily achieved, the scattered subplots involving class, entitlement, and autonomy leave readers something meatier to ponder.
Comfortably low-key, character-driven entertainment. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-283565-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
With Ivan’s movie out this year from Disney, expect great interest—it will be richly rewarded.
Tiny, sassy Bob the dog, friend of The One and Only Ivan(2012), returns to tell his tale.
Wisecracking Bob, who is a little bit Chihuahua among other things, now lives with his girl, Julia, and her parents. Happily, her father works at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary, the zoo where Bob’s two best friends, Ivan the gorilla and Ruby the elephant, live, so Bob gets to visit and catch up with them regularly. Due to an early betrayal, Bob doesn’t trust humans (most humans are good only for their thumbs); he fears he’s going soft living with Julia, and he’s certain he is a Bad Dog—as in “not a good representative of my species.” On a visit to the zoo with a storm threatening, Bob accidentally falls into the gorilla enclosure just as a tornado strikes. So that’s what it’s like to fly. In the storm’s aftermath, Bob proves to everyone (and finally himself) that there is a big heart in that tiny chest…and a brave one too. With this companion, Applegate picks up where her Newbery Medal winner left off, and fans will be overjoyed to ride along in the head of lovable, self-deprecating Bob on his storm-tossed adventure. His wry doggy observations and attitude are pitch perfect (augmented by the canine glossary and Castelao’s picture dictionary of dog postures found in the frontmatter). Gorilla Ivan described Julia as having straight, black hair in the previous title, and Castelao's illustrations in that volume showed her as pale-skinned. (Finished art not available for review.)
With Ivan’s movie out this year from Disney, expect great interest—it will be richly rewarded. (afterword) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299131-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Certain to steal hearts.
In this follow-up to 2020’s The One and Only Bob, Ruby the elephant is still living at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary.
She’s apprehensive about her Tuskday, a rite of passage for young elephants when she’ll give a speech in front of the rest of the herd. Luckily, she can confide in her Uncle Ivan, who is next door in Gorilla World, and Uncle Bob, the dog who lives nearby with human friend Julia. Ruby was born in an unspecified part of Africa, later ending up on display in the mall, where she met Ivan, Bob, and Julia. The unexpected arrival of someone from Ruby’s past life on the savanna revives memories both warmly nostalgic and deeply traumatic. An elephant glossary and Castelao’s charming, illustrated guide to elephant body language help immerse readers in Ruby’s world. Goofy, playful, and mischievous Ruby is fully dimensional, as she has shown her bravery during the many hardships of her young life. Applegate deftly tempers themes of grief and loss with compassion and humor as Ruby finds her place in the herd. The author’s note touches on climate change, the illegal ivory trade, and conservation efforts, but the highly emotive framing of the story through the memories of a bewildered baby elephant emphasizes the impact of lines such as “ ‘in Africa,’ I say softly, ‘there were bad people,’ ” without offering readers a nuanced understanding of the broader context that drives poaching.
Certain to steal hearts. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780063080089
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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