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WOULD I EVER LIE TO YOU?

Name: WOULD I EVER LIE TO YOU?
Author: Caralyn Buehner
ISBN: 978-0-8037-2793-9

by Caralyn Buehner & illustrated by Jack E. Davis ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2007

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A young narrator afflicted by an older relative with a fondness for playing head games finally exacts sweet revenge. Cousin Ed mixes fact and fancy so artfully that even his most outrageous claims—“When Ed and I were at the zoo, / Ed said, ‘That monkey looks like you! / When you grow up you’ll live here too. / Don’t cry, I’ll come and visit you.’ ”—are hard to discount, and so when he warns that a luscious slice of blueberry pie is poisoned . . . well, what if it really is? Crowding the foregrounds with their big, freckled moon faces, Ed sports beneath a shock of red hair a disingenuous grin that contrasts comically with his victim’s running expressions of worry and dismay. In the end, though, it’s Ed who looks poleaxed, when the narrator resolutely takes a bite of pie—and proceeds to “die” horribly on the kitchen floor. A broad and less-strange alternative to Chris Van Allsburg’s Probuditi! (2006), this offers just deserts for pranksters everywhere. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: May 1, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-8037-2793-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2007

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
SNOWMEN'S TWELVE NIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS
by Caralyn Buehner ; illustrated by Mark Buehner

- BOOK REVIEW
MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. MOUSE
by Caralyn Buehner ; illustrated by Mark Buehner

- BOOK REVIEW
SNOWMEN AT WORK
by Caralyn Buehner & illustrated by Mark Buehner

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ADA LACE, ON THE CASE

From the Ada Lace series , Vol. 1

by Emily Calandrelli & Tamson Weston ; illustrated by Renée Kurilla ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 29, 2017

The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the...

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Using science and technology, third-grader Ada Lace kicks off her new series by solving a mystery even with her leg in a cast.

Temporarily housebound after a badly executed bungee jump, Ada uses binoculars to document the ecosystem of her new neighborhood in San Francisco. She records her observations in a field journal, a project that intrigues new friend Nina, who lives nearby. When they see that Ms. Reed’s dog, Marguerite, is missing, they leap to the conclusion that it has been stolen. Nina does the legwork and Ada provides the technology for their search for the dognapper. Story-crafting takes a back seat to scene-setting in this series kickoff that introduces the major players. As part of the series formula, science topics and gadgetry are integrated into the stories and further explained in a “Behind the Science” afterword. This installment incorporates drones, a wireless camera, gecko gloves, and the Turing test as well as the concept of an ecosystem. There are no ethnic indicators in the text, but the illustrations reveal that Ada, her family, and bratty neighbor Milton are white; Nina appears to be Southeast Asian; and Mr. Peebles, an inventor who lives nearby, is black.

The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the chapter-book world. (Fiction. 7-9)

Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4814-8599-9

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ADA LACE SEES RED
by Emily Calandrelli with Tamson Weston ; illustrated by Renée Kurilla

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THE RECESS QUEEN

by Alexis O’Neill & illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2001

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Positing that bullies only act that way because they’re lonely, O’Neill (Loud Emily, 1998) puts seemingly meek, new classmate Katie Sue up against aggressive Mean Jean, swaggering boss of the playground. Knowing but one way to deal with challengers (“she’d push ’em and smoosh ’em, / lollapaloosh ’em, / hammer ’em, slammer ’em, / kitz and kajammer ’em . . .”), Mean Jean roughly tries to set Katie Sue straight on the pecking order. But Katie Sue stands up to her with a cheeky, “How DID you get to be so bossy?” and pulls out a jump rope, inviting Mean Jean to jump along. Presto change-o, a friendship is born. Huliska-Beith’s (The Book of Bad Ideas, 2000, etc.) rubbery-limbed figures, rolling perspectives, and neon-bright colors reflect the text’s informality as well as its frenzied energy. Though the suggested strategy works far more easily here than it would in real life, young readers will be caught up by Katie Sue’s engaging, fizzy exuberance. (Picture book. 7-9)