Madison Blackberry is bored, despite the beguiling charms of her dollhouse, complete with its sentient inhabitants Rockstar (a mousy doll, ironically named), Wildflower (a celluloid doll whose boyfriend Guy is a “dark-skinned plastic doll in army fatigues”) and the lavender-eyed, dress-designing fairy Miss Selene. The dolls’ cozy family life is essentially a deliciously described dress-up tea party, and Madison—largely ignored by preoccupied parents—is jealous. “The combination of boredom and jealousy is a dangerous thing,” and Madison maliciously takes away what her dolls love best, including Guy, whom she “sends off to war.” Themes of war, loss, loneliness and love deepen the story’s more fanciful aspects, accentuated by McClintock’s delicately etched pen-and-ink illustrations of luxurious interiors and frilly gowns. Love redeems all when Madison gets some long-overdue attention from her grandmother and finds it in her heart to make peace with the dolls. Experiencing Block’s atypical storybook is like peering into an ornate sugar egg and seeing tiny sad people and soldiers inside instead of pink frosted bunnies. An emotionally resonant surprise. (Doll fantasy. 8-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-113094-6
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2010
With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating...
Nicholas is a bright boy who likes to make trouble at school, creatively.
When he decides to torment his fifth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Granger (who is just as smart as he is), by getting everyone in the class to replace the word "pen'' with "frindle,'' he unleashes a series of events that rapidly spins out of control. If there's any justice in the world, Clements (Temple Cat, 1995, etc.) may have something of a classic on his hands. By turns amusing and adroit, this first novel is also utterly satisfying. The chess-like sparring between the gifted Nicholas and his crafty teacher is enthralling, while Mrs. Granger is that rarest of the breed: a teacher the children fear and complain about for the school year, and love and respect forever after.
With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating tale—one to press upon children, and one they'll be passing among themselves. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-689-80669-8
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1996
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
