by Frances O’Roark Dowell ; illustrated by Preston McDaniels ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014
Phineas, good-humored and insightful in his believable first-person voice, once again provides a pertinent, easy-to-read...
Fourth-grade scientist Phineas L. MacGuire is back for another outing, exploring science ideas in the world around him and figuring out a way to deal with the class bully.
He’s supported by his friends, fellow scientist Aretha, who’s working on a Girl Scout cooking badge, and polar-opposite Ben, who seems to live largely for bacon (even in brownies). Tasked with cooking his family’s supper for the foreseeable future, Phineas comes to understand—and to explain to readers—some of the scientific principles of cooking, including how yeast and baking soda make foods rise. What he’s less able to make sense of is why class bully Evan has suddenly focused on him, strong-arming him into cooking brownies for him almost every day—or else. With few viable options, Phineas does what any good scientist would; he attempts to study Evan’s behavior—with unexpected results that offer both insight and a resource for kids dealing with their own bullies. Unlike previous Phineas stories, this one lacks science experiments, but with new information about how some aspects of cooking work, readers could develop their own. McDaniels’ softly shaded illustrations are attractive and numerous, but they don’t always quite match with descriptions in the text.
Phineas, good-humored and insightful in his believable first-person voice, once again provides a pertinent, easy-to-read tale for grade schoolers. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4814-0099-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2014
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by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Rob Shepperson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2016
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Grace Zong
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by Joe McGee ; illustrated by Teo Skaffa ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 31, 2021
Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair.
Fifth graders get into a hairy situation.
After an unnamed narrator’s full-page warning, readers dive right into a Wolver Hollow classroom. Mr. Noffler recounts the town legend about how, every Oct. 19, residents don fake mustaches and lock their doors. As the story goes, the late Bockius Beauregard was vaporized in an “unfortunate black powder incident,” but, somehow, his “magnificent mustache” survived to haunt the town. Once a year, the spectral ’stache searches for an exposed upper lip to rest upon. Is it real or superstition? Students Parker and Lucas—sole members of the Midnight Owl Detective Agency—decide to take the case and solve the mustache mystery. When they find that the book of legends they need for their research has been checked out from the library, they recruit the borrower: goth classmate Samantha von Oppelstein. Will the three of them be enough to take on the mustache and resolve its ghostly, unfinished business? Whether through ridiculous plot points or over-the-top descriptions, the comedy keeps coming in this first title in McGee’s new Night Frights series. A generous font and spacing make this quick-paced, 13-chapter story appealing to newly confident readers. Skaffa’s grayscale cartoon spot (and occasional full-page) illustrations help set the tone and accentuate the action. Though neither race or skin color is described in the text, images show Lucas and Samantha as light-skinned and Parker as dark-skinned.
Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair. (maps) (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8089-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
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