An old-fashioned and cozy tale that also provides a relatable example of resilience and perseverance.
A tween girl undercuts a greedy pumpkin seller in this children’s book.
Growing up in the 1960s and ’70s on her family’s farm in Cottonwood, Illinois, 12-year-old Hattie Mae Bramble got a pretty good idea of what vegetables should cost. So when Mr. Pinchly’s garden shop charges up to $5 for Halloween pumpkins, she knows that’s way too much, especially for kids from financially struggling families. That year, Hattie and her 10-year-old tag-along brother, Dirk, get some pumpkins from their own patch, and the Bramble family hosts an outdoor jack-o’-lantern carving station for Hattie’s 4-H club—which becomes even more fun when it transforms into a pumpkin-gut fight. In February, Hattie’s winter 4-H project involves caring for piglets, which gives her a bright idea: “If I could raise pigs, why not raise pumpkins?” Usually, Hattie dislikes gardening, but she relishes the thought of affordable Halloween pumpkins for all. So, alongside their usual chores, Hattie and Dirk plant, weed, and tend their pumpkin patch, ignoring Mr. Pinchly’s scorn for their efforts. However, in July, Hattie’s piglets escape and trample the patch, leading to a poor harvest and few sales—but in the nick of time, a farmyard surprise turns things around, confounding Mr. Pinchly. In her second Hattie Mae chapter book for young readers, Wargel presents a prospect that will please young readers: achieving victory over a selfish adult while also helping less fortunate kids. Although Hattie’s projects don’t go perfectly, she learns that setbacks are an inherent part of life—an invaluable lesson for her and for readers. She is, as her father explains, experiencing the reality of farming, where piglets can die, crops can fail, and it takes faith to keep going. The story also effectively demonstrates that success is a group effort, showing how the whole family, including Hattie’s usually unkind older brother, pitches in to corral the escaped pigs.
An old-fashioned and cozy tale that also provides a relatable example of resilience and perseverance.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Most children will agree the book is “smafunderful (smart + fun + wonderful).” (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)
In this entertaining chapter book, the first in a series, readers meet kind Sir Sidney and the gentle performers and hands in his circus. But Sir Sidney is tired and leaves the circus under the management of new-hire Barnabas Brambles for a week.
That Sir Sidney is beloved by all is quickly established, presenting a sharp contrast to the bully Brambles. The scoundrel immediately comes up with a “to do” list that includes selling the animals and eliminating the mice Bert and Gert. (Gert is almost more distressed by Brambles’ ill-fitting suit and vows to tailor it.) Revealed almost entirely through dialogue, the put-upon animals’ solidarity is endearing. The story, like the circus train now driven by the Famous Flying Banana Brothers, takes absurd loops and turns. The art is fully integrated, illustrating the action and supplementing the text with speech bubbles, facsimile letters and posters, Brambles’ profit-and-loss notes, examples of Gert’s invented vocabulary and more. Brambles’ plans go awry, of course, and he gets his comeuppance. With Bert and Gert acting as his conscience, along with a suit from Gert that finally fits and a dose of forgiveness, Brambles makes a turnaround. Sensitive children may doubt Sir Sidney’s wisdom in leaving his animals with an unscrupulous man, and the closing message is a tad didactic, but that doesn’t blunt the fun too much.
Most children will agree the book is “smafunderful (smart + fun + wonderful).” (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61620-244-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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