Airy computer hijinks—with something of a letdown when the secret's out. Yet how could it be otherwise? Kate draws a self-portrait on her doctor-father's computer—titled (for a school assignment) "Self-Portrait of a Computer Nut"—and gets a message from an unidentified someone or something, who on next contact calls himself an extra-terrestrial, BB-9. A hoax? A mysterious admirer? Best-friend Linda's wacky ideas for eliminating suspects shame and embarrass Kate—but secret, overweight crush Willie Lomax (victim of an accidental dousing in flea dip) gets interested nonetheless. BB-9 can also be contacted on Willie's Apple; he seems to be able to read minds; maybe he is for real—and coming to earth imminently, as he says, for firsthand experience "IN EVOKING LAUGHTER." What's more real is Kate's discomfiture: she's down on Linda ("Kate, I can't help being funny"), at odds with her family ("Dr. Morrison sighed"), edgy with Willie—whose self-mocking wit makes him very likable, and hard to perturb. Then Kate and Willie meet BB-9, as arranged, in a burger joint: a quasi-kid, with a mechanical voice, who's already alienated himself by cracking weird extra-terrestrial jokes that no one gets. ("I SAID TO THE WAITRESS, WHAT WEIGHS TWO THOUSAND POUNDS, HAS FOURTEEN LEGS, THREE HEADS, AND GOES ERRRRRRRRP? . . . A CRUSTACEAN MONSTER WITH INDIGESTION.") When he also insists on telling jokes at a nearby pep rally, he's stampeded; Kate and Willie extricate him; and Kate sends him off happy by genuinely laughing at his last joke. The who's-on-the-computer? gambit, and the true-to-character humor holds up well enough to keep readers going—even if the thwarted space-comedian bombs out.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1984
ISBN: 0140320865
Page Count: 158
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1984
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
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