A survival story so vivid readers will want to don a warm jacket and have a comforting bowl of soup within reach.
Lawrence tells the gut-wrenching tale of Englishman Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated trek to the South Pole in the first-pony voice of a white pony named James Pigg who was actually part of the expedition.
An unnamed narrator’s lively, context-providing segments precede each chapter and dramatically set the stage for the rivalry between Scott and Norwegian Roald Amundsen: “The year is 1910, and a great adventure is beginning. It will take two years to finish and will end in a desperate race across the bottom of the world, with a dead man being the winner.” Captain Scott decides to bring dogs as well as 20 light-colored ponies—light only because Shackleton’s dark-colored ones all died. James Pigg wasn’t always James Pigg—he was a Manchurian pony roaming free until he was captured, and broken, by men. Along with the compassionate and affable James Pigg’s unflinching chronicle of Scott’s journey and its accompanying horrors from frostbite to death, his equine perspective allows an insightful exploration of the relationships of men to dogs and ponies alike, revealing both cruelty and extraordinary kindness, even love. The author’s note, in which Lawrence describes his childhood hero-worship of Scott and his initial attraction to James Pigg’s story is as fascinating as the rest.
A survival story so vivid readers will want to don a warm jacket and have a comforting bowl of soup within reach. (map of explorers’ routes, cast of characters, author’s note, acknowledgments, about the author) (Historical fiction. 9-14)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-385-73377-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2011
A snappy mystery that’s full of heart.
A group of bright friends tackles the puzzle of their lives.
Elmwood, New Hampshire, 11-year-old Gina Sparks is small in stature but big on reporting ongoing dramas for the local newspaper with support from her journalist mom. When an unbelievable scoop comes her way, Gina must rely on her tightknit crew of sixth grade best friends whose initials happen to spell GEEK, a label they choose to proudly reclaim. She and science-minded prankster Elena Hernández, theater kid Edgar Feingarten, and driven math genius Kevin Robinson decide to get to the bottom of things when they learn that the Van Houten Toy & Game Company heir made elaborate plans to leave everything to the town of Elmwood before her death—but only if a member of the community could solve an intricate multistep puzzle. Gina hopes that deciphering the clues and finding the missing fortune will be just the thing to revitalize the down-on-its-luck town and bring the Elmwood Tribune back into the black, saving her mom’s job and Gina’s passion project. The GEEKs work together, using their individual talents and deductive reasoning skills to unravel the mystery. Infused with media literacy pointers, such as the difference between fact and opinion and reminders to avoid bias when reporting, the story encourages readers to think critically. Gina and Edgar read as White; Elena is cued as Latinx, and Kevin is implied Black.
A snappy mystery that’s full of heart. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37793-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Poignant, respectful, and historically accurate while pulsating with emotional turmoil, adventure, and suspense.
In the midst of political turmoil, how do you escape the only country that you’ve ever known and navigate a new life? Parallel stories of three different middle school–aged refugees—Josef from Nazi Germany in 1938, Isabel from 1994 Cuba, and Mahmoud from 2015 Aleppo—eventually intertwine for maximum impact.
Three countries, three time periods, three brave protagonists. Yet these three refugee odysseys have so much in common. Each traverses a landscape ruled by a dictator and must balance freedom, family, and responsibility. Each initially leaves by boat, struggles between visibility and invisibility, copes with repeated obstacles and heart-wrenching loss, and gains resilience in the process. Each third-person narrative offers an accessible look at migration under duress, in which the behavior of familiar adults changes unpredictably, strangers exploit the vulnerabilities of transients, and circumstances seem driven by random luck. Mahmoud eventually concludes that visibility is best: “See us….Hear us. Help us.” With this book, Gratz accomplishes a feat that is nothing short of brilliant, offering a skillfully wrought narrative laced with global and intergenerational reverberations that signal hope for the future. Excellent for older middle grade and above in classrooms, book groups, and/or communities looking to increase empathy for new and existing arrivals from afar.
Poignant, respectful, and historically accurate while pulsating with emotional turmoil, adventure, and suspense. (maps, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: July 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-88083-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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