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THE FRIEND THIEF

Name: THE FRIEND THIEF
Author: Gina Loveless
ISBN: 978-1-5248-5574-1

From the Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw series , Vol. 2

by Gina Loveless ; illustrated by Andrea Bell ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2020

Ambitious but overworked.

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Will a fifth grader lose all her friends to a bully?

In this sophomore volume in the Robin Hood–themed Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw series, green-hoodie–clad Robin Loxley and her group of friends are enjoying fifth grade, playing basketball, and eagerly awaiting the upcoming fair. Robin has her eye on bully Nadia, with whom she has a history. She soon notices her friend LJ spending more and more time with Nadia. As her concern slowly spirals into fixation, her other friends also begin to drift away. When she realizes she is all alone, Robin angrily confronts her friends and is then faced with the impact of her outburst. Watching Robin slowly and carefully sort out her feelings and hearing her unpack her missteps could certainly be an asset to those struggling with similar issues. Loveless’ offering is told in diary format with a large, easy-to-read typeface; pages of prose are sprinkled with cheerful crayonlike illustrations by Bell. At times, however, the illustrations can interrupt the text flow, as when a basketball bounces through it, seemingly out of nowhere. Similarly, the high-concept narrative feels overstuffed with unnecessary gimmicks, like spontaneously rapping twins Allana and Dale and an overabundance of food-related figurative language. Main character Robin presents white and her friends are racially diverse but not specified; the twins have two dads.

Ambitious but overworked. (Fiction. 7-11)

Pub Date: April 14, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-5248-5574-1

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Review Posted Online: Feb. 29, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ANIMAL RESCUE FRIENDS
by Meika Hashimoto & Gina Loveless ; illustrated by Genevieve Kote

- BOOK REVIEW
PUBERTY IS GROSS BUT ALSO REALLY AWESOME
by Gina Loveless ; illustrated by Lauri Johnston

- BOOK REVIEW
WHO IS THE BUCKS BANDIT?
by Gina Loveless ; illustrated by Andrea Bell

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A SNOW DAY FOR PLUM!

by Matt Phelan ; illustrated by Matt Phelan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 7, 2023

Lively fun with animal friends.

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Has Plum’s pep deserted him?

Several animals from the Athensville Zoo are on their way to visit an elementary school. Overconfident Itch the ningbing (an Australian marsupial), unaware that zookeeper Lizzie will be doing all the talking, looks forward to “lecturing eager young minds.” Plum, the usually chipper peacock, on the other hand, is anxious—maybe the schoolchildren won’t like him or he’ll get lost. So when they arrive at the school to find the students have been sent home due to a blizzard, Plum is relieved. The animals are left in a school gym for the night until three self-important class mice free them. Itch heads for the library to meet the learned turtle, but Plum reluctantly explores with his friends. When his anxiety peaks, they reassure him, and when the mice reject Meg, another peacock, as “borrrring” and uncool, they buoy her as well before everyone comes together to save Itch, who finds himself outside and stranded in a snowdrift. Unlike Leave It to Plum (2022), this is not a mystery, and the relationship focus shifts from Lizzie to the rodents, but the pace is brisk, and sequel seekers will be pleased to revisit familiar characters (if dismayed that Itch’s longing for knowledge leads to his downfall). In Phelan’s engaging grayscale pen-and-wash illustrations, Lizzie has short curly hair; text and art cue her as Latine.

Lively fun with animal friends. (how to draw Plum) (Chapter book. 7-10)

Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-06-307920-5

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LIBRARY OF UNRULY TREASURES
by Jeanne Birdsall ; illustrated by Matt Phelan

- BOOK REVIEW
BIG CHANGES FOR PLUM!
by Matt Phelan ; illustrated by Matt Phelan

- BOOK REVIEW
TROUBLE FINDS PLUM!
by Matt Phelan ; illustrated by Matt Phelan

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TUCK EVERLASTING

by Natalie Babbitt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1975

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...

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At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.

Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the first week in August when this takes place to "the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning") help to justify the extravagant early assertion that had the secret about to be revealed been known at the time of the action, the very earth "would have trembled on its axis like a beetle on a pin." (Fantasy. 9-11)