by Elizabeth Stur Hill & illustrated by Rob Shepperson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 2004
Ten-year-old Ben learns a lesson about loyalty, obedience, and jealousy. Ben’s parents died in a car crash six years earlier and his great-grandmother insisted that Ben move in with her and Ben’s grandparents, stating firmly, “He’s our boy.” These three words have kept Ben on the straight and narrow, helping whenever he can and being a good, good boy. Ben likes his life, but begins to doubt himself when Elliot, the city boy, arrives and seems to have something negative to say about every detail of rural life. Sophisticated and worldly wise, Elliot has some of the material things that Ben lacks, even gets a dog put up for adoption. When wildfires move through the state one July, fireworks are forbidden. But Elliot goads Ben into shooting off just a couple, with a disastrous result. Though the depiction of the grandparents is warm and loving, the story is predictable and the rest of the secondary characters are wooden. This tale fails to ignite any sparks for the reader. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2004
ISBN: 0-374-31712-7
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2004
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by David Shannon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1999
The poster boy for relentless mischief-makers everywhere, first encountered in No, David! (1998), gives his weary mother a rest by going to school. Naturally, he’s tardy, and that’s but the first in a long string of offenses—“Sit down, David! Keep your hands to yourself! PAY ATTENTION!”—that culminates in an afterschool stint. Children will, of course, recognize every line of the text and every one of David’s moves, and although he doesn’t exhibit the larger- than-life quality that made him a tall-tale anti-hero in his first appearance, his round-headed, gap-toothed enthusiasm is still endearing. For all his disruptive behavior, he shows not a trace of malice, and it’ll be easy for readers to want to encourage his further exploits. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-48087-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
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by David Shannon ; illustrated by David Shannon
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by David Shannon ; illustrated by David Shannon
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by David Shannon ; illustrated by David Shannon
by Jo Hoestlandt & translated by Mark Polizzotti & illustrated by Johanna Kang ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 8, 1995
The thoughtless words of childhood become the focus of the narrator's haunted memories of WW II. Helen recalls the events of her ninth birthday in occupied France in 1942. Lydia, her best friend, comes over to spend the night, and they amuse themselves by telling ghost stories. When a stranger wearing a yellow star like Lydia's comes looking for a place to hide, Lydia suddenly wants to go home. Helen is angry and shouts to the departing girl that she is not her friend anymore. The next day Lydia and her family have disappeared. The simple storyline brings together a complex combination of elements—ghost stories and fights between friends who suddenly find themselves in the context of war—all of which are penetrated by an equally complex narratorial voice, capable of differentiating among subtle shades of emotion. It belongs both to the old woman telling the story and to the nine-year-old girl she was. As a result of this layering of perspective, the characters and story have depth through minimal means (sketchy details, snatches of conversation). This is even more effective in the wondrous pictures. In her first book, Kang's palette contains only browns, grays, yellows, and redsmuted colors, forming the geometric interiors of barren apartments. If the individual colors and shapes in the pictures are simple, as a whole they create an intensely expressive atmosphere. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: May 8, 1995
ISBN: 0-8027-8373-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1995
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by Jo Hoestlandt & illustrated by Aurélie Abolivier & translated by Y. Maudet
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