Another winning adventure with this charming elementary school class.
Buddy’s question for a visiting author sparks a pet-focused confab among the second grade Whirligigs.
Buddy and his classmates, including his best friend, Joey, and outspoken Bea, discover that among them they have many pets, from Buddy’s irascible cat, Sunshine, to Joey’s new puppy, Frisbee, to Bea’s mysterious cat, who likes to sleep on top of cans. The members of the class—named the Whirligigs “because whirligigs were maple seeds. And their teacher’s name was Ms. Maple”—engage in some enthusiastic cataloging of the variety of pets in their homes. The kids start to wonder if Bea really has a cat. Meanwhile, Buddy’s reluctant to reveal details about Sunshine, such as her habit of playing with her poop, until Frisbee has an accident while visiting the class. Carr includes a variety of classroom lessons, such as sorting and tallying, that incorporate this age group’s particular interests and concerns. She convincingly captures the way young elementary schoolers latch on to a new idea and carry out related activities. The students and their concerns will feel familiar to many, from earnest, sometimes worried Buddy to irrepressible Bea, whose pet turns out to be one of the neighborhood bodega cats. The cheerful cartoon art depicts a lively, diverse school. Buddy is Asian, Joey is Black, Bea is light-skinned, and a previous book established that Ms. Maple is of Filipina descent.
Another winning adventure with this charming elementary school class. (Fiction. 5-9)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781682635360
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
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
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
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