Fifth grade in Hannah's new Maryland school is difficult: the other girls care ``about makeup, clothes, and boys'' while Hannah's concerns are still ``books, art, and make-believe.'' Although initially ambivalent about popular Caitie's overtures, Hannah comes to enjoy this first friend. With Caitie's encouragement, Hannah is successful in some new ventures; still, Caitie's clowning and irresponsibility cause her difficulty and embarrassment. Hannah begins to feel like a Caitie clone, foregoing her own principles for Caitie's approval. During a painful quarrel, she tells Caitie that she isn't ready to be grown up. Hannah's mother, however, helps her understand that Caitie really does value her individuality, while Hannah herself realizes that she doesn't ``have to go along with everything the other girls [do]. She could still be Hannah, different from the others, but liking them, too.'' Mills, who has a gift for creating likable characters and catching a child's perception of problems, is the author of a substantial body of deftly crafted stories about middle-grade girls; Hannah is a worthy addition to the roster. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: May 15, 1991
ISBN: 0-02-767011-2
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1991
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nicholas is a bright boy who likes to make trouble at school, creatively.
When he decides to torment his fifth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Granger (who is just as smart as he is), by getting everyone in the class to replace the word "pen'' with "frindle,'' he unleashes a series of events that rapidly spins out of control. If there's any justice in the world, Clements (Temple Cat, 1995, etc.) may have something of a classic on his hands. By turns amusing and adroit, this first novel is also utterly satisfying. The chess-like sparring between the gifted Nicholas and his crafty teacher is enthralling, while Mrs. Granger is that rarest of the breed: a teacher the children fear and complain about for the school year, and love and respect forever after.
With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating tale—one to press upon children, and one they'll be passing among themselves. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-689-80669-8
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1996
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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