Heartfelt and engaging.
When an odd package arrives, Rica Baptista is intrigued.
Something mysterious is happening at Rica’s house: Uncle Moose has sent a box addressed to himself! Strangest of all, no one else seems as curious as Rica, not even her teenage cousin Serenity, who’s staying with Rica’s family for the week while Serenity’s father (Rica’s Uncle Will) goes camping with her twin siblings. What could be in the box? Rica and BFF Laini mull the possibilities: a rainbow polka-dotted unicorn? An alien? Uncle Moose will be visiting in a few days, and he’ll let the family know what’s inside when he arrives, but Rica can’t wait. Sharing a bedroom with Serenity proves a lot less magical than Rica’s fantasies, especially after a video call with Uncle Will that leaves Serenity sulky. As Rica realizes that her cousin feels left out, she and Laini decide to cheer her up—after all, what if the box’s secret item is the ability to make people feel better? Rica once more proves an enchanting narrator with an authentic voice, by turns wildly imaginative and grounded in her compassion for Serenity. Her Cabo Verdean American family is loving and funny, gently bantering while doing their best to support Serenity; cultural references (for instance, Momma preparing a stew known as cachupa) are gently woven in. Jose’s black-and-white artwork makes effective use of shading, depicting characters with distinctive facial features. Laini is light-skinned.
Heartfelt and engaging. (Fiction. 6-10)Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781536227673
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
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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