Having lost her mother to cancer several years before, a young woman finds herself unexpectedly aloft in new surroundings, attempting to untangle her family’s past. Rina Berger is separated from her beloved younger sister, and sent from her aunt’s overcrowded midwestern household to live with an older couple, the Steins, in a posh Long Island suburb. It’s a discomfiting change that comes with a grandiosely redecorated bedroom, a fancy wardrobe, and rigid expectations regarding her deportment and academic achievements. Alternating between rebelling against and trying to make the best of her new life, Rina braves the wrath of her strict guardians by joining a library (reading a novel is grounds for punishment, she learns); tutoring a fellow student who is slower, fatter, and poorer; inviting her entire class from Bais Yaakov High School For Girls to a sleepover; and ultimately unraveling the tangled relationship between the Steins and her family. A glossary complements Rina’s first-person narration, which fairly dances with Hebrew and Yiddish words and expressions (“I washed negel vasser and said Modeh Ani, including a special little tefillah that things would go right for me”). A heartfelt story that is more than carried by its plot and characters. (Fiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-880582-46-5
Page Count: 271
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1999
In his quest for easy moolah, Owen learns that the road to financial solvency can be rocky and fraught with work. Greene (Owen Foote, Soccer Star, 1998, etc.) touches upon the often-thorny issue of chores and allowances: Owen’s mom wants him to help out because he’s part of the family and not just for the money—while Owen wants the money without having to do tedious household chores. This universal dilemma leaves Owen without funds and eagerly searching for ways to make a quick buck. His madcap schemes range from original—a “free” toilet demonstration that costs 50 cents—to disastrous, as during the trial run of his children’s fishing video, Owen ends up hooking his ear instead of a trout. Enlisting the aid of his stalwart, if long-suffering, friend Joseph, the two form a dog-walking club that becomes vastly restricted in clientele after Owen has a close encounter with an incontinent, octogenarian canine. Ultimately, Owen learns a valuable lesson about work and money when an unselfish action is generously rewarded. These sudden riches motivate Owen to consider wiser investments for his money than plastic vomit. Greene’s crisp writing style and wry humor is on-target for young readers. Brief chapters revolving around a significant event or action and fast pacing are an effective draw for tentative readers. Weston’s (Space Guys!, p. 392, etc.) black-and-white illustrations, ranging in size from quarter- to full-page, deftly portray Owen’s humorous escapades. A wise, witty addition to Greene’s successful series. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2000
ISBN: 0-618-02369-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
PLB 0-688-13166-2 King Midas And The Golden Touch ($16.00; PLB $15.63; Apr.; 32 pp.; 0-688-13165-4; PLB 0-688-13166-2): The familiar tale of King Midas gets the golden touch in the hands of Craft and Craft (Cupid and Psyche, 1996). The author takes her inspiration from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s retelling, capturing the essence of the tale with the use of pithy dialogue and colorful description. Enchanting in their own right, the illustrations summon the Middle Ages as a setting, and incorporate colors so lavish that when they are lost to the uniform gold spurred by King Midas’s touch, the point of the story is further burnished. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-13165-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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