The girls do learn that blood is thicker than water, but it takes a painfully long time to realize it.
Summer vacation, Iva Honeysuckle–style.
When Iva’s cousin Heaven pulls a card from her Daily Life deck and reads, “Pack for a long trip,” both 9-year-olds find it hard to believe they are going anywhere. Living next door to each other in Uncertain, Va., means they never go anywhere. Turns out the Daily Life card was right, and soon, both families load into cars and head to the beach on the Chesapeake Bay. Staying in a small house with six kids and their mothers turns out to be harder than anyone expected. The older cousins are boy-crazy, the little kids need constant watching, and Heaven and Iva compete for the affections of glamorous London Howdyshell, straining their already fractious relationship. Iva adds to the friction by refusing to shower or brush her teeth for the vacation. The arguing and sniping drags on the narrative, leaving few likable characters. Iva, who gets into trouble at every turn, often chooses to simply cover up her errors rather than make them right. The vacation is made more confusing by colloquialisms (“A goose walked over Iva’s grave”) that may tantalize but will make little sense to young readers.
The girls do learn that blood is thicker than water, but it takes a painfully long time to realize it. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-3514-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A perennial message, “different strokes for different folks,” delivered with affection and tolerance, 21st-century style.
Cody’s impatient for Spencer Pickett’s family to move in with his grandma, GG; as readers of the series’ first installment know, waiting isn’t Cody’s strong suit.
On the Picketts’ arrival, surprises ensue (Spencer plays the violin) as well as mysteries: GG’s duplex unit is full of Picketts (Spencer’s parents are launching a business), but apart from the name “Meen” on the mailbox, the adjacent unit looks empty. When ant-fancier Cody’s stung by a yellow jacket, Mr. Meen appears with a remedy—he’s an exterminator! Unlike their dad, the Meen girls aren’t friendly, and Molly forbids Cody and Spencer to play in the backyard. Cody tries to mentor Spencer, who’s younger, but the teacher she warned him about (the Spindle) likes him—Cody finds them listening to Mozart during recess. Cody’s classmate Pearl makes origami animals for Spencer and plays piano; soon they’re rehearsing for a concert. Do they like each other better than they like Cody? Are the Meen girls bullies or friend material? Her big brother is there for Cody, when not romantically preoccupied, but her restless, inventive mind and kind heart are her best resources. The African-American Picketts are middle-class, while, like the Meens, Cody’s family is more blue-collar (Dad drives a truck; Mom works in retail) and white. Asian-American Pearl, with her origami and music, hews rather too closely to stereotype. Understated illustrations subtly reinforce these diverse identities and bring the cozy world to life.
A perennial message, “different strokes for different folks,” delivered with affection and tolerance, 21st-century style. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5858-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A gentle and loving reminder that baseball mirrors society and can also transcend it.
Two baseball heroes who battled hatred and prejudice met for the first time in an on-field collision.
Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg were both determined to play baseball, and they both served in the armed forces in World War II. But dealing with racial and religious bigotry was the true common thread that wove through their lives. They faced restrictions on their freedom to live in certain neighborhoods, stay in hotels or join clubs. They heard threatening epithets and had objects thrown at them. When they collided at first base, the crowd shouted for them to fight, but they just got on with the game, and Greenberg had some words of sympathetic encouragement for Robinson. In their retirement years, they remained friendly, and both worked for equal rights in and out of baseball. Employing a matter-of-fact, conversational tone, Fishman tells the stories of their lives in tandem, stating the physical distances that separated them while emphasizing the similarities of their parallel struggles. History is contextualized in language and syntax that is accessible and straightforward. Elliott’s acrylics, softly tinted and framed in white, variously depict the two lives separately or in a split-screen format that complements not only the action, but the spirit of the work.
A gentle and loving reminder that baseball mirrors society and can also transcend it. (biographical information, websites, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7614-6140-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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