Retro fun for persistent readers.
The eponymous rising fifth grader is a Canadian girl who is determined to earn enough points over the summer to be a contestant for Junior Journalist at Cantilever’s newspaper, the Town Crier.
Kiddo’s first stumbling block is the fact that her poor spelling almost makes her ineligible, until her mother intervenes—with a clever use of logic—to raise Kiddo’s final grades on her report card. The ignorance of learning disabilities combines with other clues to let readers familiar with Canadian history and culture know the setting is probably the 1970s. It is unfortunate for young U.S. readers that there is no date or overt historical clue early on; they may immediately dismiss Kiddo’s language and behavior as oddly corny and immature instead of as representative of kids in a different era. Some preteen readers will either giggle nervously or stop reading at the early description of Kiddo’s older sister’s trainer-bra antics. Kiddo narrates the story with gusto, and readers who stay with it will enjoy the neighborhood camaraderie, small-town adventures, character types, and even illustrations that emulate Beverly Cleary’s chapter books. Kiddo’s presumed-white, affectionate, working-class family has friends with both East Asian and South Asian names. An abundance of humor in all its forms moves the plot and its many subplots to satisfying conclusions.
Retro fun for persistent readers. (Historical fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-896580-66-1
Page Count: 148
Publisher: Tradewind Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage...
This sequel to The Lemonade War (2007), picking up just a few days later, focuses on how the fourth graders take justice into their own hands after learning that the main suspect in the case of the missing lemonade-stand money now owns the latest in game-box technology.
Siblings Evan and Jessie (who skipped third grade because of her precocity) are sure Scott Spencer stole the $208 from Evan’s shorts and want revenge, especially as Scott’s new toy makes him the most popular kid in class, despite his personal shortcomings. Jessie’s solution is to orchestrate a full-blown trial by jury after school, while Evan prefers to challenge Scott in basketball. Neither channel proves satisfactory for the two protagonists (whose rational and emotional reactions are followed throughout the third-person narrative), though, ultimately, the matter is resolved. Set during the week of Yom Kippur, the story raises beginning questions of fairness, integrity, sin and atonement. Like John Grisham's Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer (2010), much of the book is taken up with introducing courtroom proceedings for a fourth-grade level of understanding. Chapter headings provide definitions (“due diligence,” “circumstantial evidence,” etc.) and explanation cards/documents drawn by Jessie are interspersed.
Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage with the characters enough to care about how the justice actually pans out. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: May 2, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-27967-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A bit disjointed and episodic, but Tristan is a likable companion.
Tristan’s family has always loved living in New York City, but all that is about to change.
Dad announces that they are moving to a dilapidated, purple house on a hill on the outskirts of the very small town of Petersville in upstate New York. Baby sister Zoe is frightened and confused. Jeanine, two years younger than Tristan and a math genius in gifted and talented classes, is appalled and worried about her educational prospects. Tristan is devastated, for he is a city kid through and through. Because they won’t be starting school for several months, their parents tell Jeanine and Tristan they must complete a project. Jeanine selects a complicated scientific and mathematical study that allows her to remain uninvolved with people. Tristan, who loves to cook, like his chef mom, decides to start a business making and selling the supposedly mind-blowing chocolate-cream doughnuts once famous in Petersville but now no longer made. His business plan leads to adventures, new friends, and a sense of acceptance. Tristan is a charmer; he’s earnest, loving, wistful, and practical, and he narrates his own tale without guile. But he is the only character so well defined—next to him, the supporting cast feels flat. The family is described as Jewish early on, but their Judaism is kept well to the background; the people of Petersville are white by default.
A bit disjointed and episodic, but Tristan is a likable companion. (recipes, business plan, acknowledgements) (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-5541-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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