Two sixth graders find their third-grade teacher living in a cardboard box in the park and give him a fresh start in this contrived, misguided tale from Evans (The Classroom at the End of the Hall, 1995). Charlie isn't sure why he follows the filthy, shambling street person into the public library—until he realizes with a shock that it's Joe Adams, his all-time favorite teacher. When Charlie rushes up to talk, he is coldly rebuffed. Enlisting the help of classmate Colleen, another Adams fan, he begins bringing food and clean clothing to the box where Adams keeps his books and opera tapes, lying about his whereabouts to conveniently oblivious parents. As weeks pass, Adams slowly becomes less hostile, and at last explains how the combination of chemotherapy, divorce, and a publicized incident in which he shoved a bullying student destroyed his self-esteem, led him to resign, and eventually drove him to drink. Ultimately, Charlie and Colleen sneak him into his old school classroom for a week (it's spring break), while appreciative former students gather to get him back on his feet with a check, an apartment, and a pep rally. Evans pays warm tribute to the profound effects a teacher can have, and suggests that helping the homeless often requires more than finding them places to live. Still, there are several characters and subplots undeveloped, and in Charlie's example is a potentially dangerous course of action. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 28, 1997
ISBN: 1-886910-20-0
Page Count: 124
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1997
In this alphabetic tour of the golden state, alliterative phrases illuminate the featured letter and relay pertinent facts about California, while colorful illustrations form the centerpiece of each page. Below the picture is the descriptive phrase and beneath that are both uppercase and lowercase version of the specific letter. For M, “monarchs [are] migrating to Monterey” with the accompanying scenic illustration showing said butterflies flitting around the coast. Readers can then turn to the detailed appendix for more information on both monarchs and Monterey. With such exhaustive detail, this outwardly simple book is packed with a wealth of information, blending art, history, marine and animal life, while providing a stimulating and colorful introduction to the alphabet. (map) (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-87358-682-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
The Prince of Palindromia offers a third collection, nearly all of which, he writes, “grew (very slowly) out of my brain.” Every palindrome appears as either the punchline or caption to a page-sized pen-and-ink cartoon that provides explanatory visual cues: “Red? No wonder,” thinks Ms. Claus, watching Santa paint a wall. With examples both humble (A clueless math student answers “One?” “No!” replies his teacher) and complex—“A man, a plan, a cat, a bar, a cap, a mall, a ball, a map, a car, a bat, a canal: Panama”—Agee hikes down a curious, always entertaining language byway with a book which, it can be said with perfect justice, readers will enjoy backwards and forwards. (Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 16, 1999
ISBN: 0-374-31808-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
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