Cheeky Lola is a well-balanced combination of exuberance and naïve vulnerability that charms and entertains.
Hilarious Lola has a lot of problems, but the very biggest one—growing all the time—is the immense knot of snarled hair at the back of her head. What is a girl to do?
Lola’s strategy is to ignore it if at all possible. Getting that knot out is going to hurt. The very thought of it makes her wince (worry and squint at the same time). The trouble is her hair is naturally curly, and if it doesn’t get properly brushed, as when her parents are too busy, then knots g-r-o-w. Another thing about Lola, who is white and Jewish but shares an elementary school class with a multicultural group, is that she likes to be kind, so she invites two of her second-grade classmates to drop their dogs off at her house so she can watch them over the busy Thanksgiving holiday. Even she knows that second dog is going to be a problem. Being kind also makes it very hard to tell one of her two competing grandmothers that her pumpkin pie tastes like “licking a candle.” Lola’s distinct, effervescent first-person narration includes the occasional definition—“Deluxe means you wish you had one”—and other funny thoughts that early grade school readers (and grown-ups) will laugh at. Hoppe’s numerous charming illustrations enrich the presentation.
Cheeky Lola is a well-balanced combination of exuberance and naïve vulnerability that charms and entertains. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62979-324-5
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An awesome-tastic invitation to have or share thoughts about bad and better choices.
Actor Tatum’s effervescent heroine steals a friend’s toy and then lies about it.
Thrilled about an upcoming play date with new classmate Wyatt, Sparkella considers her own sparkly stuffies, games, and accessories and silently decides that he’d be more interested in her friend Tam’s remote-controlled minicar. While she and Tam are playing together, Sparkella takes the car when Tam isn’t looking. Tam melts down at school the next day, and Sparkella, seeing her “bestest friend” losing her sparkle, feels “icky, oogy, and blech.” And when Wyatt comes over, he turns out to be far more entranced by glittery goods than some old car. When Sparkella yells at him—“WYATT, YOU HAVE TO PLAY WITH THIS CAR RIGHT NOW!”—her dad overhears and asks where the toy came from…and along with being a thief, Sparkella turns out to be the worst. Liar. Ever. She eventually confesses (her dad forgives her), apologizes (ditto Wyatt and even Tam), and goes on to take part in a three-way play date/sparklefest. Her absolution may come with unlikely ease, but it’s comfortingly reassuring, and her model single dad does lay down a solid parental foundation by allowing that everyone makes mistakes and stressing that she is “never going to be punished for telling the truth in this house.” He and Sparkella present White, a previous entry cued brown-skinned Tam as Asian, and Wyatt has brown skin in Barnes’ candy-hued pictures. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An awesome-tastic invitation to have or share thoughts about bad and better choices. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 30, 2023
ISBN: 9781250750778
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A foodie’s delight, with a sweet message between the layers.
It’s all about the yum in this tale from Tosi, founder of Milk Bar, a chain of bakeries.
Now that his mom and dad are living apart, young Phil finds that his delectable double chocolate cake isn’t the same when he prepares it with just one parent at a time. Nor does making brownies with one and s’mores with the other quite butter the biscuit. His peanut butter cookie–making partner, Sammi, tells him that “every cake has a story. And sometimes stories change.” That sends him to the grocery store for inspiration and leads to a mouthwatering epiphany: “A Chocolate Brownie PB S’mores layer cake!” "New could be exciting and special,” enthuses the author before closing with a challenging but feasible recipe (with the suggestion to torch the top properly left for grown-up sous-chefs). Reinforcing the upbeat tone and positive outlook in this tale of family changes, Balsley’s cartoon illustrations depict a young patissier presenting the very picture of culinary self-confidence as he bustles about two kitchens while his parents look on affectionately and lend an occasional willing ear or hand. This one is best when dished up with sweets and a napkin, like all the better pastry-centered picture books. Phil and his father are tan-skinned, Mom is brown-skinned, and Sammi is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A foodie’s delight, with a sweet message between the layers. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9780593110713
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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