A warm, wholesome coming-of-age story.
Moore’s debut middle-grade novel, inspired by stories of her mother's childhood, follows a girl as she grows up in small-town California during the 1910s.
Thirteen-year-old Rosie lives with her parents, two older brothers, and two younger sisters in a converted railroad depot, where her father works as flagman. Her favorite activity is running, much to her mother’s chagrin; every day when the train comes by, she tries to “beat the caboose to the wild raspberry patch,” and every day, she gets a little closer to her dream of entering and winning the City Championships. At her Catholic school, Rosie is delighted when Sister Bridget starts teaching the girls track, and soon, a rivalry develops between her and snooty Gloria Armbruster. Gloria is so determined to win, in fact, that she shoves Rosie at the City Championships, causing her to break her leg. Unable to run for some time, Rosie is at a loss for another hobby until she discovers the piano. At first, she’s limited to practicing on a cardboard set of keys at home, as her family can’t afford a piano of their own—but with love and hard work, they find a way. Moore’s book is consciously old-fashioned, offering a slice of life, not a driving plot. Along the way, it effectively details what people did for fun before the advent of modern entertainments: for example, Rosie and her siblings stage circuses in the barn; joy ride in a Ford Model T, or “Tin Lizzie”; and sing and dance along with popular tunes of the day, such as the sprightly Zez Confrey rag of the title. The timeline is somewhat muddled—Rosie first wants to qualify for the running championships in 1910, but only two years pass before her eldest brother, Pete, goes off to fight in World War I, which actually began in 1914; the United States didn’t enter the war until three years after that. Still, Rosie is a plucky and pleasant heroine who’s easy to root for, and young readers who want a break from epic plots will enjoy spending some quiet time in her world.
A warm, wholesome coming-of-age story.Pub Date: Dec. 28, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4973-8225-1
Page Count: 216
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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