After years of growing up with Collette Murphy, readers are thrust back in time to see what Sacred Heart Elementary is like from the perspective of one of her two best friends. Marsha has vowed not to get into trouble and to make this school year a good one, especially because she likes the student teacher, Miss Murtland. But Marsha's good intentions and penchant for lying butt up against Roger Friday's natural high spirits; the combination nearly gets one of them tossed out of school. McKenna fans will like this peek at Marsha's motives, often obscure in the other stories, but Roger's scenes are the real pleasure; the author paints an intriguing portrait of a boy who seems deceptively like a potential bully—perfectly exasperating but ultimately shown to be (fairly) well-meaning. The children have funny, typical school quarrels; as a writer of light fare, McKenna again weighs in with a real look at real kids. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-590-45123-5
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993
After 12-year-old Sarah's father dies at the turn of the century, her mother decides to send one of her four children from Ukraine to America. Initially this is to be the eldest, Hannah, but after her passport is purchased and the tickets arrive from Uncle Benjamin in New York their mother had a change of heart: Sarah will go instead, and—though Hannah is devastated and Sarah frightened—their mother prevails. The narrative recounts Sarah's journey by train and steamship, her fear that the fact that she's traveling on her sister's passport will be discovered, and her lonely wait on Ellis Island until her uncle comes. Useful, though not deep, a story that offers insights into the immigrant experience; readers will be interested to learn that it is based on the author's mother's experiences. Cogancherry contributes appealing characterizations and a strong sense of place in her carefully modeled, full-page b&w drawings. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-8075-7237-3
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
A 1932 Washington, D.C., demonstration by WW I vets hoping to collect a promised bonus is the basis for a novel about how nine-year-old Jimmy Watkins joins his unemployed father in the effort. At first, it's an adventure and escape from growing responsibilities; but as Jimmy settles into the hobo camp where the marchers await President Hoover's decision, he becomes aware of the hunger and hopelessness around him and is moved to acts of kindness. When Congress votes to defer the bonus until 1945 (why isn't explained), the squatters are routed and Camp Marks is burned by troops. In a dramatic but unrealistic scene, Jimmy calms the panicky crowd and leads it, Pied Piper-style, out of the camp by playing his harmonica. Though pedantically written, the story is packed with authentic details extended in an afterword describing Roosevelt's different response to the next bonus march. Ethereal watercolors elevate the text but reinforce the romanticized presentation rather than depicting the time's true squalor. Nevertheless, a serviceable addition. (Fiction. 8- 10)
Pub Date: April 5, 1994
ISBN: 0-87614-786-4
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1994
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