It’s likely that only the most die-hard fans of the Little House books will appreciate this novel, set on the midwestern prairie in the 1870s. First-time novelist Arrington tells the story of resourceful 11-year-old Polly and her 9-year-old sister, Jessie, daughters of Swedish-immigrant homesteaders. The girls’ mother falls into a near-catatonic state at the beginning of the tale, and ultimately, horrified and powerless to stop her, her daughters watch her walk out of their lives. It soon becomes apparent that she has had a delayed reaction to the deaths of her two infant sons in the recent past and is no longer able to cope with her difficult and lonely life. Meanwhile, before the story began, the girls’ father had gone off to bury his deceased brother and, having broken his leg, has been unable to return home. Polly and Jessie manage on their own while fending off grasping neighbors. Despite the girls getting lost at one point in the high, wild grasses, the bluestems that surround their home and define their lives, there is little adventure here and the sisters’ experiences are surprisingly uninvolving as they wait and wait for Papa to come back. Young readers will likely be impressed by how much responsibility the children easily assumed in the “olden days,” but this novel is too bland to arouse much interest otherwise. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-399-23564-7
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A savage tale of a psychic child witnessing the terrors of the Gulf War through the eyes of Latif, a 13-year-old Iraqi soldier. Narrator Tom's younger brother, Andrew, has always had vivid ``dreams,'' sometimes fun and splendid, sometimes discomfiting—but since the invasion of Kuwait, his whole pattern of behavior has changed: At night he scratches at nonexistent lice, mutters triumphantly in an unknown language and behaves as if he were in a camp, surrounded by comrades. Soon Andrew's personality becomes totally subsumed by Latif's, and the boy is hospitalized. Tension mounts as the land war begins in Iraq; in a horrifying climax, Tom sees Andrew/Latif bombed, burned, and machine-gunned (all conveyed by his realistic reactions to his phantom environment). Andrew returns physically unharmed, but no longer the dreamy, sensitive child he was. Westall (Falling into Glory, p. 563, etc.) mordantly contrasts not only the fearful but proud Latif's view of the war with the impersonal, nearly bloodless version seen on TV, but also each side's affirmations of legitimacy and different perspectives on the war's causes. The result is an antiwar statement every bit as harrowing and furious as Peter Dickinson's AK (1992), at a third of the length. (glossary) (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-590-22218-X
Page Count: 101
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1995
A witty tribute to the exceptional and often inexplicable connection between siblings. Baby Louise’s incessant crying has calamitous results, joggling pictures off walls, alarming the four-legged population in the vicinity, and frightening off other wildlife. Her beleaguered parents, grandparents, and their solicitous friends try valiantly to stem the flow, from lullabies to Mozart and an impromptu gig by the grandfather, without success. At first it seems that older brother Daniel’s phrase, “oonga boonga,” will soothe the fractious infant. However, after Daniel leaves and nothing, not even “oonga boonga,” will calm Louise, readers realize that it is Daniel’s very presence that keeps her in smiles. Thompson’s eloquent illustrations reflect both the comical and endearingly tender facets of the tale, providing a sparkling counterpart to Wishinsky’s vivacious text. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: May 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-525-46095-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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