Outrageous fun with thoughtful insights into family dynamics.
There’s an elephant in the room—and on the stairs, on the street, and in the park.
Sarah’s bored and lonely, so why not get a pet? Surprisingly, her mom agrees. Mom likes things regular, organized, and on schedule, and she’s completely wrapped up in her job as CEO at a bank. Sarah wonders if her mother really cares about her at all. When Sarah and her dad go grocery shopping, they also buy an African elephant named Mr. Smith and bring him home. Getting him upstairs and into the apartment is a major logistical problem. A new friend, Peter, who introduces herself as princess of the tiny European country of Odessia, offers help, as does Anther, the gardener. Sarah has plans galore for Mr. Smith, though some prove disastrous. There are loads of misunderstandings, with Mr. Smith’s amazing talent for arranging flowers proving to be very important. It all comes to a satisfying conclusion, with loose ends neatly tied up and lots of apologies and improved relationships. A triad of narrative devices, sometimes confusing to follow, moves the tale along. Sarah speaks in the first person as the main voice, paneled cartoons with dialogue depict some of the action, and a third-person entity speaks for Mr. Smith, voicing his emotions. Sarah’s mother acknowledges her own role in her daughter’s unhappiness—possibly a new idea for young readers to recognize their parents’ human foibles. Sarah and her family present White, and Peter has dark skin and two long, black braids. The tale is set in a whimsically alternative present day; Mr. Smith was taken from the fictional African country of Zimbazini, a questionable choice for wordplay.
Outrageous fun with thoughtful insights into family dynamics. (Fiction/fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4598-2430-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet!
Ryan Hart is navigating the fourth grade and all its challenges with determination.
Her mom named her Ryan because it means “king,” and she wanted Ryan to feel powerful every time she heard her name; Ryan knows it means she is a leader. So when changes occur or disaster strikes, budding chef Ryan does her best to find the positive and “make sunshine.” When her dad is laid off from the post office, the family must make adjustments that include moving into a smaller house, selling their car, and changing how they shop for groceries. But Ryan gets to stay at Vernon Elementary, and her mom still finds a way to get her the ingredients she needs to practice new recipes. Her older brother, Ray, can be bossy, but he finds little ways to support her, especially when she is down—as does the whole family. Each episodic chapter confronts Ryan with a situation; intermittently funny, frustrating, and touching, they should be familiar and accessible to readers, as when Ryan fumbles her Easter speech despite careful practice. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and Watson continues to bring visibility to both Portland, Oregon, generally and its Black community specifically, making another wonderful contribution that allows Black readers to see themselves and all readers to find a character they can love.
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet! (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale.
After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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