by Charlotte Moundlic & illustrated by Olivier Tallec ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2011
The day after realizing his ailing mother is “really going to die,” a boy awakens to his father’s devastating announcement:...
When his mother dies, a little boy reacts honestly to his profound loss in this poignant snapshot of grief.
The day after realizing his ailing mother is “really going to die,” a boy awakens to his father’s devastating announcement: “She’s gone forever.” Furious with his mother for leaving, the boy angrily lashes out, “Well, good riddance,” then worries how his devastated father will manage. Initially, the boy doesn’t want to sleep and has a “bit of a stomachache.” He closes the windows to contain his mother’s scent and plugs his ears, covers his eyes and shuts his mouth to preserve the sound of her voice. After scraping his knee, he feels comforted by the memory of his mother assuring him he’s “too strong for anything to hurt.” Healing begins when Grandma suggests his mother’s still in his heart. He feels her beating there. Speaking in first person, present tense, the boy candidly describes his loss and concern for his grieving father with heartfelt immediacy. Rendered in pencil and wash in a limited palette of reds and yellows, simple illustrations stress the boy’s distress and isolation while powerfully conveying his progression from anger and fear to sadness and acceptance.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5341-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
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by Charlotte Moundlic illustrated by Olivier Tallec translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick
by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2019
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
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by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
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by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
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by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
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by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
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SEEN & HEARD
by R.J. Palacio ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2012
A memorable story of kindness, courage and wonder.
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After being home-schooled for years, Auggie Pullman is about to start fifth grade, but he’s worried: How will he fit into middle school life when he looks so different from everyone else?
Auggie has had 27 surgeries to correct facial anomalies he was born with, but he still has a face that has earned him such cruel nicknames as Freak, Freddy Krueger, Gross-out and Lizard face. Though “his features look like they’ve been melted, like the drippings on a candle” and he’s used to people averting their eyes when they see him, he’s an engaging boy who feels pretty ordinary inside. He’s smart, funny, kind and brave, but his father says that having Auggie attend Beecher Prep would be like sending “a lamb to the slaughter.” Palacio divides the novel into eight parts, interspersing Auggie’s first-person narrative with the voices of family members and classmates, wisely expanding the story beyond Auggie’s viewpoint and demonstrating that Auggie’s arrival at school doesn’t test only him, it affects everyone in the community. Auggie may be finding his place in the world, but that world must find a way to make room for him, too.
A memorable story of kindness, courage and wonder. (Fiction. 8-14)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-375-86902-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2011
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by R.J. Palacio ; illustrated by R.J. Palacio with K Czap
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