An absorbing testament to the power of thinking differently.
Isaacman, a cast member on the reality show Love on the Spectrum, and co-author Bensur follow a group of neurodivergent children who rescue animals in crisis.
David (who shares a name with one of the authors) loves the sea lions visible from the swimming cove. But marine animals inexplicably begin falling ill, and when David and his pals Ariel, Beth, Billy, and Rocky notice a sickly baby sea lion, they bring it to Uncle Ned, who runs a laboratory at the local zoo. While Uncle Ned tends to the sea lion, the kids take in the zoo, finding it oddly deserted. They find a strange backpack, fall through a portal within it, and end up on the African savanna, where they must face off against an evil steampunk scientist responsible for the mystery illness plaguing the animals back home. Langley’s copious, colorful, semirealistic art and the fast, suspenseful pacing help pages speed by, while serif type supports reading. The kids’ autism is sensitively handled by Isaacman (who is also autistic), whether it’s the discomfort of people staring at them, a tendency to info-dump, or sensory overload, and their neurodivergence is often their greatest strength. These young people draw on both their tightknit bonds and the techniques they use to navigate the world; readers will be eager for more. In the artwork, characters are generally pale- or tan-skinned.
An absorbing testament to the power of thinking differently. (Adventure. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2026
ISBN: 9781223189512
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Paw Prints Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
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
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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