In this amiable, and considerably superior, sequel to The Beloved Dearly (2002), friends fall apart, then draw back together in school, on the baseball field—and in charm school. Socked with a series of whammies, from a fly ball in the face to an anonymous love note in his backpack, from the news that the Central Comets’ star pitcher Swimming Pool is off the team unless she can pass a charm school course, to the sight of his widowed dad dancing in the living room with the Cat Lady from down the street, self-appointed team manager Ernie has a lot on his plate. Fortunately, he also has smarts, a generous measure of common sense, and a world-class gift of gab—all of which is stretched to the limit when Swimming Pool, despite good intentions, flunks out. Climaxed by a dazzlingly ingenious costume party and played out by a cast of teasing, but never mean-spirited preteens, plus a few grownups who actually have a clue, this mild but relentless farce will keep young readers solidly entertained from first page to last. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-689-85419-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2004
Pippi Longstocking, the nine-year-old who lives by herself in her own house with her own horse and has inspired generations of children with her spunk and power, is shoehorned into an egregious picture-book length version of one of her adventures. The text is excerpted from two chapters of Pippi Longstocking, but it is surprising how flat it is out of context. Pippi’s neighbors Tommy and Annika invite Pippi to go to the circus with them, and she gets them all ringside seats with a gold piece from her suitcase. Irrepressible as always, Pippi leaps on the horse with the bareback rider, does wilder tricks than the tightrope walker, and bests the circus strongman at his own game. The ringmaster is horrified, but the crowd loves it, and Tommy and Annika think she is the best show of all. It ends rather abruptly with Pippi’s falling asleep in her seat. Chesworth imagines Pippi as a Howdy Doody look-alike, and, by depicting in detail all her stunts, shows how absurd they are outside the realm of the imagination. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and the Little House girls have also shown up in picture books, and so has Pippi (Pippi Longstocking’s After-Christmas Party, 1996), but this excerpt will not send readers back to Lindgren’s originals. (Picture book. 9-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-88070-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Kevin Locke, a Lakota dancer, describes the hoop dance, including the regalia, construction of the hoops, and symbolism of the dance. Contemporary Lakota, accompanied by drummers and vocalists, have revived hoop dancing; dancers perform at powwows and cultural exhibitions, and teach hoop dancing to children to continue the cultural traditions. The authors make clear, as do the full-color photographs, that this art form is a blend of ancient and modern: Locke’s costume includes moccasins beaded by hand in traditional designs, but with modern rubber soles so he doesn’t slip on slick gymnasium floors; his hoops, traditionally made of willow branches, are now made of plastic tubing or rattan; the music may be provided by CD instead of drummers. Both the reverence and high spirits of the dance come through, but only the jacket shows the hoop dancer in motion. Still photos offer a sense of the pattern and difficulty of the movements, but perhaps only a videotape would be able to do the dance justice. (further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: May 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-525-45413-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1999
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