A promising debut for a series with brainy kids, painless STEM learning, and a puzzle to solve.
A solo science geek and an assertive math nerd team up for a STEM mission.
Pale-skinned, redheaded Ari is looking for crawdads in the creek behind his new house when brown-skinned, dark-haired Cricket arrives, pointing out that he’s in her backyard. The two initially clash but soon discover they have plenty in common. As Ari realizes, “It’s not easy to find a girl who is interested in talking about rotting guts and dead animals.” And in online research! After they notice a mysterious red flag in the dirt and begin digging, they discover a box with a note inside: “Find out why Mr. Krishnaswami’s goldfish are dying.” As the kids try to figure out what’s plaguing their neighbor’s fish, their various science-minded family members weigh in, among them Cricket’s computer programmer father, who tells them to leave the box alone; her grandmother, a former NASA computer whose refusal to wear her hearing aid now results in comic misunderstandings; and Ari’s scientist mother, who puts the kids to work doing experiments involving photosynthesis and carbon dioxide. These experiments help them as they at last discover what’s wrong with the fish. Carbone’s straightforward prose offers accessible explanations of the science along with engaging characterizations of the protagonists and their family members; Herbert’s colorful cartoon art breaks up the text.
A promising debut for a series with brainy kids, painless STEM learning, and a puzzle to solve. (Fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9781478880509
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Reycraft Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers.
First volume of a planned three, this edited version of an ongoing online serial records a middle-school everykid’s triumphs and (more often) tribulations through the course of a school year.
Largely through his own fault, mishaps seem to plague Greg at every turn, from the minor freak-outs of finding himself permanently seated in class between two pierced stoners and then being saddled with his mom for a substitute teacher, to being forced to wrestle in gym with a weird classmate who has invited him to view his “secret freckle.” Presented in a mix of legible “hand-lettered” text and lots of simple cartoon illustrations with the punch lines often in dialogue balloons, Greg’s escapades, unwavering self-interest and sardonic commentary are a hoot and a half.
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-9313-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
Wholesome? Yes. Proper hard work and teamwork values in place? Yes. Paint by numbers? Oh, yes.
Olympic gold medalist Morgan runs down the celebrity-sports-fiction checklist in this series opener: New school? Check. New friends? Check. New boyfriend? Maybe! New soccer team? Check. Inspire said team to take on snooty archrival private school? Check.
Quickly shedding perfunctory initial reservations, Devin sails into seventh grade at Kentville Middle School, makes instant connections in class and at Kangaroos soccer tryouts. She meets requisite bully Mirabelle at the latter, then goes on to be elected team co-captain. After a disastrous start to the season, she helps her team’s members and even the less-than-rigorous coach land on the same winning page. Following a sleepover, a dance, team-building drills and exercises, pep rallies, minor problem-solving and motivational strategizing, Devin prods the Kangaroos into position to beat the haughty Pinewood Panthers in a climactic rematch while also schooling Mirabelle, who has jumped ship to join the rival team.
Wholesome? Yes. Proper hard work and teamwork values in place? Yes. Paint by numbers? Oh, yes. (soccer glossary) (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: May 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-8570-9
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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