It’s a long shot, but Adler takes a stab at turning a mystery on the slender hope of a shopping list. Can it be done? Not in this effort, the seventh in the Young Cam Jansen, early reading series. Cam—that’s short for Camera, that’s short for her photographic memory—helps her dad locate a shopping list he has misplaced. But most of this story is spent introducing readers—likely for the umpteenth time—to Cam, her rare talent, and her display of that talent by repeating verbatim a book she read some time back. Natti’s artwork, which provides welcome relief from the stilted prose, also provides a clue to the missing document and gives the effort its most obvious appeal. Indeed, a visual-memory game has been tacked into the endpapers and is quite fun. Which can’t be said for the story, where anything at all could be substituted for the shopping list—why not a laundry ticket, which is right up there with shopping lists in the fascination department?—serving to underscore the arbitrariness and tedium of the whole endeavor. (Easy reader. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-670-89281-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Young readers will be happy to make Azaleah’s acquaintance.
When her baby sister, Tiana, realizes her favorite stuffed frog, Greenie, is missing, Azaleah promises to help her find him—but will she have enough time to help Tiana and complete her school project?
Third grader Azaleah Lane is anxious to get home and start her diorama of Nikita the tiger after a visit to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. However, before she can get started, she must help Tiana find Greenie. Oldest sister Nia is of little help, as she’s busy preparing to play Dorothy in her middle school production of The Wiz. In order to complete her diorama and help Tiana solve the mystery of Greenie’s disappearance, Azaleah must prioritize her tasks and pay attention to the clues around her. This inaugural book in the Azaleah Lane series is a fast-paced and fun read, and Azaleah is a sympathetic, likable narrator who, like readers, is learning new vocabulary all the time. She thinks aloud as she works to solve the mystery, occasionally (and realistically) losing patience with the sobbing Tiana. Lobo’s playful, full-color illustrations every few pages are just enough to give transitioning readers needed rests so they’ll keep going; they depict Azaleah and her family as black. The backmatter includes a glossary of vocabulary words, book-discussion and writing prompts, and instructions for making a diorama.
Young readers will be happy to make Azaleah’s acquaintance. (Mystery. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5158-4464-8
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Picture Window Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Policeman Jack’s cat and dog team, Kitty and Belle, are an unusual crime-busting duo: Kitty is a shrewd mouser, while lazy Belle would rather sleep. When a wily burglar picks the lock and breaks into Policeman Jack’s house, Kitty jumps on top of the thief’s head, while Belle rouses from a nap to growl and chase the burglar out the door. They are rewarded with a TV appearance on the nightly news. In a tale told entirely in verse, the entrance of the burglar functions more as a device to break up the monotony than for building suspense or creating comedy. O’Malley saves the day with his portraits of the highly personable pets, including one picture of the appropriately sleepy Belle, bloodshot eye open amidst folds of fur. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8167-4952-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
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