by Graham McNamee ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2002
Todd Foster’s fifth-grade classmates call him a range of insulting nicknames from Gump (after Forrest Gump) to Retardo. Todd discovers that being promoted from the Special Needs classroom, where he was the smart kid, to the regular fifth-grade classroom has drawbacks. In addition to the humiliating name-calling and the difficult subject matter that Todd struggles to master, there is the issue of his best friend Eva from Special Needs. Now that he is in the big leagues, can Todd afford to be seen with the sometimes overly exuberant Eva in her rose-colored glasses? Although prone to wistfulness about the kinder, gentler Special Needs classroom, Todd is determined to make it in the regular fifth grade. When Todd’s imaginative history paper earns him a grade of B, his best grade ever, he realizes that Eva is the one he wants to share the good news with and decides to make amends for having spent the first two months of school avoiding her. Good-natured Todd faces his limitations with equanimity and humor, but not without a certain amount of frustration, as when he reacts to his teacher giving him four weeks to bring his grades up with the comment, “I’ve spent my whole life being an idiot. What can I do in four weeks?” McNamee (Nothing Wrong with a Three-Legged Dog, 2000, etc.) succeeds in making Todd an endearing and believable character. This sweet story sparkles with wit and warmth. (Fiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2002
ISBN: 0-385-72977-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2002
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by Julia Alvarez ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001
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
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by Megan McDonald & illustrated by Peter Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2002
McDonald’s irrepressible third-grader (Judy Moody Gets Famous, 2001, etc.) takes a few false steps before hitting full stride. This time, not only has her genius little brother Stink submitted a competing entry in the Crazy Strips Band-Aid design contest, but in the wake of her science teacher’s heads-up about rainforest destruction and endangered animals, she sees every member of her family using rainforest products. It’s all more than enough to put her in a Mood, which gets her in trouble at home for letting Stink’s pet toad, Toady, go free, and at school for surreptitiously collecting all the pencils (made from rainforest cedar) in class. And to top it off, Stink’s Crazy Strips entry wins a prize, while she gets . . . a certificate. Chronicled amusingly in Reynolds’s frequent ink-and-tea drawings, Judy goes from pillar to post—but she justifies the pencil caper convincingly enough to spark a bottle drive that nets her and her classmates not only a hundred seedling trees for Costa Rica, but the coveted school Giraffe Award (given to those who stick their necks out), along with T-shirts and ice cream coupons. Judy’s growing corps of fans will crow “Rare!” right along with her. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-7636-1446-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2002
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