by Bill Harley ; illustrated by Adam Gustavson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2016
A sixth book in the series is expected, to the delight of Charlie’s fans.
Master storyteller Harley scores again with fourth-grader Charlie Bumpers and friends as they suffer on a losing soccer team.
Charlie, Hector, and Tommy could be the best soccer trio in history if only they could play offense at the same time. Why can’t coach Mr. Carmody see that? Harley’s fifth book in the Charlie Bumpers series sets the scene on the soccer field instead of the classroom or the school stage. Deftly straddling the gap between slapstick-level soccer beginners and serious preteen athletes, the Pirates focus on fundamentals while getting shellacked by all their opponents. Since winning a game seems elusive (although all the adults say they never keep score), the three friends pool their resources selling chocolate bars for the fundraiser. Maybe they can win that prize instead! Harley paints a world immediately familiar to most 9-year-olds and embellishes it with the high jinks that life provides. Charlie’s soccer team is terrible. Charlie’s family drives him crazy. Charlie loses the fundraising money. Nothing life-threatening, nothing alien, just honest-to-goodness growing up while learning to play for the love of the game. The surprise is that it is suspenseful, hilarious, and revealing, with no tidy solution at the end. This is a quick and easy read, comforting and diverse even if suburban; in addition to white Charlie, African-American Tommy, and Latino Hector, the Pirates are a nicely multiethnic team.
A sixth book in the series is expected, to the delight of Charlie’s fans. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-56145-939-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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More In The Series
by Bill Harley ; illustrated by Adam Gustavson
by Bill Harley ; illustrated by Adam Gustavson
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by Bill Harley
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by Bill Harley ; illustrated by Adam Gustavson
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by Bill Harley ; illustrated by Adam Gustavson
by Zoë B. Alley & illustrated by R.W. Alley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 2010
The Alley duo spread the joy of There’s a Wolf at the Door (2009) into another oversized and overstuffed (with giggles, that is) volume. Within a graphic-novel format, the tales of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, the Frog Prince and the Princess and the Pea develop familial and hilarious interconnections while retaining the stories’ traditional structures. The humor is decidedly contemporary: Cinderella’s fairy godmother sends her off with, “Have fun! Make good decisions!” and Princess Dawn (Cinderella’s daughter, Sleeping Beauty) whines about being bored. A pair of mice who appear in each tale and in many frames kibitz vigorously, commenting, punning and making allusions that are funny even if readers do not entirely understand them. The colors are bright, the line vivacious and the typefaces dance and sing. The Dwarfs in Snow White (Les, Lew, Sam, Hank, Nat, Myron—and Bethanne) each sport a different old-guy hat (or kerchief), the princes are all handsome and supportive and Joan the disgruntled fairy finds a new calling in real estate. Smartly hysterical. (Graphic fairy tales. 7-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-471-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
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by Zoë B. Alley & illustrated by R.W. Alley
by Frances Watts & illustrated by Judy Watson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2010
Oh, the curse of being the only child—not adorable like the baby and not smart like the older sibling! Invisible, that’s how Marvelous Maud, sheep sidekick to only-child, newly selected superhero Extraordinary Ernie, feels. Maud decides to adopt a sidekick of her own. Turns out being a sidekick is no job for a middle kitten, bunny, tortoise, horse, goldfish, duckling or mouse, so Maud decides to hold a contest. Along the way, she enjoys hearing the travails of all the middle critters, but she does not notice when Ernie feels left out of the discussion. When the Baxter Branch of the Superheroes Society meets, Ernie’s ennui becomes obvious. Valiant Vera (the bravest and fastest superhero) throws down the gauntlet and bans the argumentative aces until they can work together. Decorated with frequent humorous black-and-white illustrations of winsome animals and adults in leotards, this offering is just right for readers ready for the challenge of a chapter book. Sibling conflict, animals and superheroes are all high on the interest level of young readers, making this a series to watch. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5368-4
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
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More by Frances Watts
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by Frances Watts ; illustrated by Ann James
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by Frances Watts ; illustrated by David Francis
BOOK REVIEW
by Frances Watts & illustrated by David Francis
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