by Derek Jeter with Paul Mantell ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2015
An altogether trite, values-driven star vehicle—worthy of purpose but aside from occasional game action, as dull as a rain...
Fourth-grader “Derek” works his way through a batting slump, pulls an outsider into his circle of friends, and atones for being a bully in this semiautobiographical sequel co-authored by the recently retired Yankees captain.
The actual story is preceded by a good-behavior “contract” between the future star and his invariably strict-but-fair parents, a list of 10 “Life Lessons,” plus an introductory note explaining that this episode—the second in a planned 10—will be based on the theme “Think Before You Act.” It is entirely a vehicle for platitudes and behavior modeling. Notwithstanding the gibes of his friends, Derek holds out a welcoming hand to Dave, a seemingly standoffish new class- and teammate who turns out to be a lonely rich kid with absentee parents. Meanwhile, Derek’s delight at the opening of Little League season turns to determination as he goes hitless through the first three games. Then he angrily gets into the face of a kindergartener who is bullying his little sister, Sharlee, and is called into the principal’s office with his parents for a disciplinary conference. Wheeling along past billboard-sized doses of both life and baseball coaching, plus repeated reminders to “stay positive,” every plotline ultimately coasts to a salutary resolution: Dave earns general acceptance through improved play on the field; Derek shows sincere remorse for his misdeed and formally apologizes to his victim (who later befriends Sharlee); and the base hits finally start coming as Derek leads his team to the championship game.
An altogether trite, values-driven star vehicle—worthy of purpose but aside from occasional game action, as dull as a rain delay. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2315-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
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BOOK REVIEW
by Derek Jeter with Paul Mantell
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by Tim Green & Derek Jeter
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by Derek Jeter with Paul Mantell
by Mona Golabek & Lee Cohen ; illustrated by Sonia Possentini ; adapted by Emil Sher ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021
The story is both poignant and meaningful, but the simplification does the audience a disservice.
The Children of Willesden Lane (2003), Golabek and Cohen’s story of Golabek’s mother’s life as a young Austrian refugee in London during World War II, is adapted (for the third time) for a picture-book audience.
In this picture-book biography, Lisa Jura, a young Viennese Jew, learns she cannot continue piano lessons due to the Anschluss. Her parents decide to send her on a Kindertransport to England, her mother urging her to “hold on to your music. It will be your best friend.” Upon her arrival in England, the book sends her immediately to the hostel on Willesden Lane, omitting the real-life Jura’s initial relocation in the country. The arc of the rest of the story, with Lisa auditioning for a place at the Royal Academy of Music with support from her hostel friends and a successful debut after the war ends, is largely similar to that told in the books for older readers, but the abundant, unsourced dialogue and detail changes make this telling suspect. Her two sisters are both alive and heartwarmingly present at her London debut in Lisa of Willesden Lane (2021), the chapter-book version of the story, but they don’t exist in this book outside of a family photo accompanying an aftermatter note from Golabek. The soft-edged illustrations ably complement this text, although Lisa—depicted with pale skin amid an apparently all-White cast—does not seem to age until her piano debut takes place after the war’s end. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 42.1% of actual size.)
The story is both poignant and meaningful, but the simplification does the audience a disservice. (historical note) (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-46313-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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by Mona Golabek & Lee Cohen ; adapted by Sarah J. Robbins ; illustrated by Olga Ivanov & Aleksey Ivanov
by Emerson Weber ; illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 8, 2020
An ode to the pleasures of real mail and the value of seeing and appreciating those who keep our society ticking.
An inveterate young correspondent relates the true story of how a thank-you note to her postal carrier went viral.
Writing in third person, the preteen author introduces herself as a lover of silly jokes, Taylor Swift, and, particularly, hand-decorated missives. She produces them in such profusion that she writes a letter of appreciation to Doug, her letter carrier: “I make people happy with my letters, but you do too. You make it possible!” Shortly thereafter, she learns that Doug had shared her letter with his colleagues, because grateful responses from postal workers all over the country begin arriving by the boxload…each one “a connection,” she writes, with “a piece of someone’s life in it.” The unforeseen reaction prompts thoughts that many others, from farmers to trash collectors, are likewise out there working hard and with love. Inset views of workers of diverse occupations and races accompany these ruminations in Sinquett’s brightly hued watercolors. (Weber, her parents, and Doug all present White.) Elsewhere, the illustrator also tucks in calligraphic flourishes, colorfully ornamented envelopes, and handwritten letters with chatty or plaintive phrases. The author closes with a joke but just before that poses a question that serves nicely as a rhetorical kick in the pants: “Why was my saying thank you such a big deal?” Perhaps because there’s not quite enough of that going around? (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.)
An ode to the pleasures of real mail and the value of seeing and appreciating those who keep our society ticking. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-306696-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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