Having faced ghosts, aliens, and deadly Siberian snow spiders in previous adventures, the fifth graders at Josiah Fawcett Elementary take on a very different sort of challenge when a Grecian urn from Fawn Petros’s aunt shatters, releasing four bright-eyed cupids from a 2,300-year nap. Naturally, the students immediately hatch a plot to hook up their television-despising teacher Miss Earth, still grieving over her lost love, Rocco Tortoni, with someone, anyone—how about TV newscaster Chad Hunkley? Unfortunately, the obliging cupids are a bit rusty with bow and arrow. Maguire gives shy, underachieving Fawn several chances to shine as he piles sidesplitting complications atop the customary stresses of Valentine’s Day (“What if nobody sends me a card? What if somebody does send me a card? . . . A certain variety of panic clutched many sets of guts”). By the end, seeming none the worse for having fallen madly in love with the school janitor, then a balloon in the shape of cartoon personality Cap’n Trueheart, the class frog, and finally television, Miss Earth sports a small ring, perhaps from previously diffident suitor Timothy Hay, the town’s young mayor. With profound relief, the students mail the cupids back to Greece. “Midsummer Night’s Dream” this is not, but rarely have the arrows of love gone more hilariously astray. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2000
ISBN: 0-395-83895-9
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2000
A young bear cub, Bertie, decides he wants to stay up for Christmas when his non-hibernating friends regale him with tales of snow, honey cakes, and a white-bearded man with gifts. After devising a plan in which he attempts to sleep as much as possible prior to the change of seasons (much to his unsuspecting mother’s bafflement) and with the aid of Mrs. Bear’s alarm clock, Bertie finds himself awakened in the midst of winter. After a sudden snow squall causes him to lose his way in the forest, Bertie is rescued and returned home by a kindly old man in a sled. Bertie reluctantly acknowledges that all bears must hibernate in winter, and Santa promises that he will stop by the bear household next year. Landa and Scharff-Kniemeyer depict a child’s sense of discovery through Bertie, who dances among the snowflakes and slowly realizes that he is riding with Santa himself. The colorful illustrations feature a winsome blend of tenderness, humor, and keen appreciation for a child’s boundless curiosity. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-888444-60-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
paper 0-440-41499-7 When Mike learns that he will be spending Easter at his grandmother’s house on Staten Island, he worries that the Easter Bunny will be unable to locate him and deliver goodies. A well-planned story line weaves together several humorous episodes: an attempt to find E.B. Rabbit’s telephone number in the local directory, the creation of a detailed geographic map and colorful signs, plus a heartfelt letter that includes vital information like the color of his grandmother’s front door. Weston’s full-color illustrations capture Mike’s fears, doubts, determination, and final joy; Winters’s book comforts children and reminds them of the power of belief. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 9, 1999
ISBN: 0-385-32596-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
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