LENNY AND MEL: AFTER-SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL

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LENNY AND MEL: AFTER-SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL

Name: LENNY AND MEL: AFTER-SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL
Author: Erik P. Kraft
ISBN: 0-689-85109-X

by Erik P. Kraft & illustrated by Erik P. Kraft ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2004

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The slacker sibs are back for a third outing, this time as investigative reporters off to check out the seamy underside of after-school clubs. Unfortunately, Mel’s dreams of Pulitzer, or at least National Enquirer, glory—“ ‘Chess team,’ said Mel. ‘Fun time or deadly sport?’ ‘Don’t get carried away,’ said Ms. Handsaw. ‘Stick to the facts.’ ‘Facts,’ said Mel. ‘Are they true . . . or are they deadly?’ ”—come to naught, as there isn’t much muck to rake in a Debate Club argument over school uniforms (“Mel wondered if they meant superhero uniforms”), a Poetry Club headed by beatnik teacher Mr. D’Addio, or a one-member FFA that cultivates plastic plants. Lenny and Mel are unimpressed, as their pithy reports, reproduced along with Kraft’s evocatively unambitious line drawings, reflect to a tee. Young readers fond of characters who are a bit too smart for their own good should be amused. (Fiction. 8-10)

Pub Date: July 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-689-85109-X

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
MIRACLE WIMP
by Erik P. Kraft

- BOOK REVIEW
LENNY AND MEL
by Erik P. Kraft & illustrated by Erik P. Kraft

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WAYS TO GROW LOVE

From the Ryan Hart series , Vol. 2

by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Niña Mata ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 27, 2021

The second installment in this spirited series is a hit.

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A new baby coming means Ryan has lots of opportunities to grow love.

Ryan has so much to look forward to this summer—she is going to be a big sister, and she finally gets to go to church camp! But new adventures bring challenges, too. Ryan feels like the baby is taking forever to arrive, and with Mom on bed rest, she isn’t able to participate in the family’s typical summer activities. Ryan’s Dad is still working the late shift, which means he gets home and goes to bed when she and her older brother, Ray, are waking up, so their quality daddy-daughter time is limited to one day a week. When the time for camp finally arrives, Ryan is so worried about bugs, ghosts, and sharing a cabin that she wonders if she should go at all. Watson’s heroine is smart and courageous, bringing her optimistic attitude to any challenge she faces. Hard topics like family finances and complex relationships with friends are discussed in an age-appropriate way. Watson continues to excel at crafting a sense of place; she transports readers to Portland, Oregon, with an attention to detail that can only come from someone who has loved that city. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and occasional illustrations by Mata spotlight their joy and make this book shine.

The second installment in this spirited series is a hit. (Fiction. 8-10)

Pub Date: April 27, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0058-8

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
SUMMER IS HERE
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Bea Jackson

- BOOK REVIEW
BLACK GIRL YOU ARE ATLAS
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Ekua Holmes

- BOOK REVIEW
WAYS TO SHARE JOY
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Andrew Grey

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THE LEMONADE CRIME

From the Lemonade War series , Vol. 2

by Jacqueline Davies ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2011

Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage...

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This sequel to The Lemonade War (2007), picking up just a few days later, focuses on how the fourth graders take justice into their own hands after learning that the main suspect in the case of the missing lemonade-stand money now owns the latest in game-box technology.

Siblings Evan and Jessie (who skipped third grade because of her precocity) are sure Scott Spencer stole the $208 from Evan’s shorts and want revenge, especially as Scott’s new toy makes him the most popular kid in class, despite his personal shortcomings. Jessie’s solution is to orchestrate a full-blown trial by jury after school, while Evan prefers to challenge Scott in basketball. Neither channel proves satisfactory for the two protagonists (whose rational and emotional reactions are followed throughout the third-person narrative), though, ultimately, the matter is resolved. Set during the week of Yom Kippur, the story raises beginning questions of fairness, integrity, sin and atonement. Like John Grisham's Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer (2010), much of the book is taken up with introducing courtroom proceedings for a fourth-grade level of understanding. Chapter headings provide definitions (“due diligence,” “circumstantial evidence,” etc.) and explanation cards/documents drawn by Jessie are interspersed.

Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage with the characters enough to care about how the justice actually pans out. (Fiction. 8-10)