To balance this perspective, pair this with Mummies, Bones, and Body Parts, by Charlotte Wilcox (2000).
Maeve and her grandpa find an Irish bog mummy when they are out cutting peat.
Young Maeve narrates the story in free verse that incorporates dialogue. The dialect is lyrical and captures the astonishment of the girl and her grandfather, who first believe they have found a murdered child, followed by awe when they are told it is a mummy: “I gasped. / A girl! / A girl like me, a thousand years ago / dead and dropped into this quiet place. / Who was she? / What had happened?” Despite a promise from the archaeologists to share all they learn, Maeve is uneasy when they take the mummy from the site. A police sergeant later visits, providing an update with scanty details about the mummy, belying the abilities of modern archaeological techniques and possibly disappointing youngsters excited to learn about the past. Enough information is presented so that Maeve identifies even more closely with the long-ago girl, increasing her ambivalence about the discovery. Indeed Bunting, in an afterword, recounts the history of finds, stating that while some were handled with respect, others were treated as curiosities. McCully uses watercolor with pen and ink to create a moody landscape that reflects Maeve’s musings, including her final, fanciful vision of the girl walking on the bog.
To balance this perspective, pair this with Mummies, Bones, and Body Parts, by Charlotte Wilcox (2000). (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-55843-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.
Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.
Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-448-48239-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Trisha is ready to start at a new school, where no one will know she has dyslexia. At first, she is heartbroken to be in Miss Peterson’s special-ed class, aka, “the junkyard.” But Miss Peterson treats the children as anything but junk, showing them that everyone has a unique talent. Polacco’s trademark style is fully present here; her sensitively drawn alter ego shines with depth of feeling. When bullying occurs, Miss Peterson proves her students are worthwhile by planning a junkyard field trip, where they find valuable objects to be used in exciting ways. Trisha’s group repairs a plane, and the class buys an engine for it. Then a beloved class member dies, and the children must find a way to honor him. While the plot meanders somewhat, the characters are appealing, believable and provide a fine portrayal of a truly special class. Children will be drawn in by the story’s warmth and gentle humor and will leave with a spark of inspiration, an appreciation of individual differences and a firm anti-bullying message, all underscored by the author’s note that concludes the book. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-25078-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
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