This quasi-detective story for kids lets its quirky protagonist shine in a simply-plotted story full of good-hearted mayhem.
After their secret stray kitten goes missing, a young girl and her brother set out on a city-wide quest to find their beloved friend in Chapelle's middle-grade novel.
Eleven-year-old Tempest and her younger brother, Wallace, desperately want a pet but are repeatedly told“no” by their Mum and Dad. One day, the siblings find a young kitten stuck in a tree. After rescuing him and naming him Pompon, they hide the kitten in Tempest’s room for a few days to prove to their parents that they’re responsible. Pompon soon goes missing, however, and Tempest sets off to find out what happened. As she frantically searches the city, she crosses paths with some suspicious characters—including a “mysterious old man with steely blue eyes” named Eddie Quinn (who Tempest nicknames “Steely Blue”) and “Lady Lavender,” an elderly neighbor. Even Tempest’s own grandmother, Manie, finds herself on the suspect list. Tempest must navigate her wild imagination while attempting to keep her search a secret from her parents if she is to find Pompon. When she eventually does, Tempest learns a valuable lesson about truth, responsibility, and love. Yao’s cartoon-like illustrations consist of simple black-and-white line drawings and are scattered throughout. Chapelle expertly captures the precocious mind of a preteen in the charming Tempest, whose busy brain often carries her away (like when she convinces herself that kindly old Lady Lavender is a killer: “WHACK! That noise again! She’s not a sweet grandmother; she’s a murderer in disguise, and this was a trap. She’ll kill me”). One chapter toward the end of the book is written from Pompon’s perspective and feels awkwardly inserted, but this is a rare misstep. Overall, Chapelle manages to seamlessly blend together humorous moments (Wallace mixing up the word “conspirators” with “constipators”) and truly heartfelt ones (Tempest realizing she must—at least temporarily—give up Pompon, who is too young to be away from his mother) to craft a feel-good mystery.
This quasi-detective story for kids lets its quirky protagonist shine in a simply-plotted story full of good-hearted mayhem. (Juvenile fiction, ages 6-13)Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9781068544705
Page Count: 155
Publisher: Leapwise Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
Entrancing and uplifting.
A small dog, the elderly woman who owns him, and a homeless girl come together to create a tale of serendipity.
Piper, almost 12, her parents, and her younger brother are at the bottom of a long slide toward homelessness. Finally in a family shelter, Piper finds that her newfound safety gives her the opportunity to reach out to someone who needs help even more. Jewel, mentally ill, lives in the park with her dog, Baby. Unwilling to leave her pet, and forbidden to enter the shelter with him, she struggles with the winter weather. Ree, also homeless and with a large dog, helps when she can, but after Jewel gets sick and is hospitalized, Baby’s taken to the animal shelter, and Ree can’t manage the complex issues alone. It’s Piper, using her best investigative skills, who figures out Jewel’s backstory. Still, she needs all the help of the shelter Firefly Girls troop that she joins to achieve her accomplishment: to raise enough money to provide Jewel and Baby with a secure, hopeful future and, maybe, with their kindness, to inspire a happier story for Ree. Told in the authentic alternating voices of loving child and loyal dog, this tale could easily slump into a syrupy melodrama, but Pyron lets her well-drawn characters earn their believable happy ending, step by challenging step, by reaching out and working together. Piper, her family, and Jewel present white; Pyron uses hair and naming convention, respectively, to cue Ree as black and Piper’s friend Gabriela as Latinx.
Entrancing and uplifting. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-283922-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
