An excellent chapter book that’s perfect for middle-grade fans of Megan McDonald’s Judy Moody series and other books...
A grade school girl battles her fear of “staring eyeballs” in this fantastic series starter by debut author Lesko.
Lexi isn’t a fan of loud noises and hates when people stare at her, so she tells her music teacher that she’d rather skip recess than be in the school music program. When her mother informs her that she doesn’t actually have a choice (“This was breaking news,” Lexi tells readers), she tries to come up with another way to get out of the program. Her eventual plan: to catch a leprechaun. Although Lexi claims to have no imagination, she does claim to have superpowers: Sometimes, she says, her wishes come true; if she can just perfect her tornado twirls, she thinks, she’ll be able to turn invisible. Lexi has a remarkable narrative voice, and Lesko captures her anxieties and phobias beautifully; Winsor’s evocative black-and-white illustrations perfectly match Lesko’s tone. Children and parents may wonder just what sort of disorder Lexi has that sets her apart from her fellow students. For example, if she breaks the rules, she gets “the feeling of barf”; when she’s miserable and has “a feeling of ‘argh,’ ” she instinctively curls up under her desk and hides; and she seems to hear sounds louder than most other people. The book never provides a diagnosis, and readers may suspect Lexi would be hard to be friends with in real life. She’s a fascinating protagonist, however, and readers will enjoy her adventures and root for her to find a way out of the school program. Although her plans don’t always work out, her budding friendship with another student offers hope that she’ll have someone to lean on during future adventures.
An excellent chapter book that’s perfect for middle-grade fans of Megan McDonald’s Judy Moody series and other books featuring spirited female narrators.Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-0991431007
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Red Leather Books, LLC
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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