Nothing to write home about.
Confusion about idioms plus rudeness in the cafeteria equals unpleasant consequences for second-graders Patrick and Richard.
Prankster Patrick loves nothing more than a good joke. Richard is determined that Patrick will never get him in trouble with his joking again. It’s Mind Your Manners Month at school, and the cafeteria is a challenging place to stay out of trouble. When Patrick and Richard decide to suck red Jell-O up a straw and pretend to be vampires, they end up freaking out Sophie, the new student from France, who thinks she is seeing blood. Mr. E., the vice principal, gets doused in “blood.” The boys are busted for having such horrible manners, but things get a little more complicated when Sophie tells the boys they are stupid. “I call a cat a cat,” she declares. Thus begins the running joke of the book: French idioms are different from American ones. When Sophie “makes white cabbage,” it takes a bit of work for the boys to understand she is drawing a blank. Readers will enjoy trying to untangle Sophie’s idiomatic speech and will be glad to see both boys pay their debts. Neither boy is particularly likable, however, and Patrick’s father—who encourages his son’s naughtiness—is especially unpleasant. One unfortunate running gag—Mr. E. is mocked for his enormous stash of size XXXXL T-shirts—does not play out in the illustrations, in which his size is depicted as unremarkable.
Nothing to write home about. (Fiction. 7-12)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-05680-0
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2015
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Quirky and imaginative—postmodern storytelling at its best.
Friendly curiosity and a gift for naming earn a polar bear an assortment of (mostly animal) friends, adventures, mishaps, and discoveries.
Arriving at a northern ocean, Duane spies a shipwreck. Swimming out to investigate, he meets its lone occupant, C.C., a learned snowy owl whose noble goal is acquiring knowledge to apply “toward the benefit of all.” Informing Duane that he’s a polar bear, she points out a nearby cave that might suit him—it even has a mattress. Adding furnishings from the wreck—the grandfather clock’s handless, but who needs to tell time when it’s always now?—he meets a self-involved musk ox, entranced by his own reflection, who’s delighted when Duane names him “Handsome.” As he comes to understand, then appreciate their considerable diversity, Duane brings out the best in his new friends. C.C., who has difficulty reading emotions and dislikes being touched, evokes the autism spectrum. Magic, a bouncy, impulsive arctic fox, manifests ADHD. Major Puff, whose proud puffin ancestry involves courageous retreats from danger, finds a perfect companion in Twitch, a risk-aware, common-sensical hare. As illustrated, Sun Girl, a human child, appears vaguely Native, and Squint, a painter, white, but they’re sui generis: The Canadian author avoids referencing human culture. The art conveys warmth in an icy setting; animal characters suggest beloved stuffed toys, gently reinforcing the message that friendship founded on tolerance breeds comfort and safety.
Quirky and imaginative—postmodern storytelling at its best. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3341-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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