by Dave Shelton ; illustrated by Dave Shelton ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2019
Fans of David Walliams will enjoy the formulaic nonsense, but there’s no shortage of higher-quality slapstick mysteries for...
At her new school full of horsenappers, bootleggers, and jam thieves, Daphne becomes a detective.
When English schoolgirl Daphne arrives at the imposing gates bearing the legend “St. Rita’s School for Spirited Girls, est. 1873,” all she knows is that she’s been offered a scholarship and a job as an assistant librarian. There’s a crater in the driveway from an accident with stolen chemistry supplies and a massive hole in the dormitory floor made by a falling cannonball. The students (all apparently white) pick locks and forge Monets. As the deputy head explains, “you’d need to be bonkers in the noodle to want to be here. It’s a dreadful place!” Even Daphne’s job as assistant librarian is a mess: The gorgeous library is nearly empty after a fire that destroyed the old library, the head librarian who hired Daphne is on indefinite sick leave, and her replacement is a small girl who doesn’t seem inclined to trust Daphne. But somebody needs to solve all the skulduggery and shenanigans: break-ins, thefts, and even a missing student. The school is so odd that the mid-20th-century time period is easy to miss, and both the third-person narration that shifts between limited and omniscient and the narrative voice’s adult tone are similarly unmooring. Cartoonish illustrations by the author are comical but as slightly off as St. Rita’s itself.
Fans of David Walliams will enjoy the formulaic nonsense, but there’s no shortage of higher-quality slapstick mysteries for eager readers . (Mystery. 8-11)Pub Date: May 28, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-32379-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: David Fickling/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Dave Shelton
BOOK REVIEW
by Dave Shelton ; illustrated by Dave Shelton
BOOK REVIEW
by Dave Shelton & illustrated by Dave Shelton
by Stephen Bramucci ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 3, 2023
A wild romp that champions making space for vulnerable creatures and each other.
A boy with ADHD explores nature and himself.
Eleven-year-old Jake Rizzi just wants to be seen as “normal”; he blames his brain for leading him into trouble and making him do things that annoy his peers and even his own parents. Case in point: He’s stuck spending a week in rural Oregon with an aunt he barely knows while his parents go on vacation. Jake’s reluctance changes as he learns about the town’s annual festival, during which locals search for a fabled turtle. But news of this possibly undiscovered species has spread. Although Aunt Hettle insists to Jake that it’s only folklore, the fame-hungry convene, sure that the Ruby-Backed Turtle is indeed real—just as Jake discovers is the case. Keeping its existence secret is critical to protecting the rare creature from a poacher and others with ill intentions. Readers will keep turning pages to find out how Jake and new friend Mia will foil the caricatured villains. Along the way, Bramucci packs in teachable moments around digital literacy, mindfulness, and ecological interdependence, along with the message that “the only way to protect the natural world is to love it.” Jake’s inner monologue elucidates the challenges and benefits of ADHD as well as practical coping strategies. Whether or not readers share Jake’s diagnosis, they’ll empathize with his insecurities. Jake and his family present white; Mia is Black, and names of secondary characters indicate some ethnic diversity.
A wild romp that champions making space for vulnerable creatures and each other. (Adventure. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781547607020
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
Share your opinion of this book
More by Stephen Bramucci
BOOK REVIEW
by Stephen Bramucci ; illustrated by Arree Chung
by Barbara O’Connor ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 31, 2010
"The short, sad life of Tooley Graham was over," doesn't sound like a happy conclusion but is pitch perfect in this short, simple and endearing middle-grade novel that follows on the heels of The Small Adeventure of Popeye and Elvis (2009). Owen Jester is focused on several things during his summer vacation: finding a way to keep his trapped "pet" bullfrog alive and happy, locating what fell off a train with a loud crash! one night and keeping annoying next-door neighbor Viola—who knows everything—out of their business as he schemes with his two best friends, Stumpy and Travis. The discovery of a sleek, red two-person submarine in the brush alongside the tracks changes everything. Can three young, girl-hating boys and a willing and very able—and tolerant—girl move a submarine to Graham Pond? If they manage that, will they ever be able to pilot it? In the heat of a languid Georgia summer vacation, in the dreams of irrepressible youth, anything is possible. O'Connor has spun a lovely read that perfectly captures the schemes and plans of school-age kids in the long days of summer. (Fiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-374-36850-0
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
Share your opinion of this book
More by Barbara O’Connor
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.