With an election around the corner, this isn’t a bad way for young readers to view the political arena.
When 12-year-old Aidan Schroeckenbauer saves presidential candidate Bettina Brandon from a falling campaign sign and ends up the “Clarinet Hero,” he’s adopted by the campaign and hits the road.
Aidan brings good publicity, but it becomes a hard road when he endures attacks on his clarinet playing, his baseball prowess and even his age, as reporters say he might actually be older than 12, making him ineligible to play Little League. Even his mother, laid off from the local FreezeStar factory, has been accused of being a spy for a Chinese corporation. Partly a light satire on modern elections, Clark’s tale is mostly a fun romp, lightened by the contentious relationship between Aidan and Governor Brandon’s daughter Emma. Their often-humorous banter keeps the story on track as they become friends and learn to work together to keep the campaign rolling. Names of political figures and Brandon’s Fresh Idea Party are made up, and even the Democratic candidate is said to be a former Democratic vice president, Jack Mathias. (Though being fictional is just as well, since Aidan’s mother calls him an “out-of-touch idiot.”) Humorous dialogue, smart pacing and some dirty politics make for an engaging read.
With an election around the corner, this isn’t a bad way for young readers to view the political arena. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-60684-101-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Egmont USA
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid.
Black sixth-grader Jake Liston can only play one song on the piano. He can’t read music very well, and he can’t improvise. So how did Jake get accepted to the Music and Art Academy? He faked it.
Alongside an eclectic group of academy classmates, and with advice from his best friend, Jake tries to fit in at a school where things like garbage sculpting and writing art reviews of bird poop splatter are the norm. All is well until Jake discovers that the end-of-the-semester talent show is only two weeks away, and Jake is short one very important thing…talent. Or is he? It’s up to Jake to either find the talent that lies within or embarrass himself in front of the entire school. Light and humorous, with Knight’s illustrations adding to the fun, Jake’s story will likely appeal to many middle-grade readers, especially those who might otherwise be reluctant to pick up a book. While the artsy antics may be over-the-top at times, this is a story about something that most preteens can relate to: the struggle to find your authentic self. And in a world filled with books about wanting to fit in with the athletically gifted supercliques, this novel unabashedly celebrates the artsy crowd in all of its quirky, creative glory.
A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-553-52351-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...
The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.
Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-750-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
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