The ups and downs of friendship, delivered with wit and whimsy.
BFFs Bird and Bear continue to care for each other.
Bird is ill, so Bear kindly provides “chips, chewy things, soup, custard, beans, [and] a cheese soufflé.” He also offers to read The Complete History of Spoons (and to do “all the voices”) and to perform “The Dance.” Bird, wrapped in a blanket and looking peaked, politely declines. Bird wants “nothing,” but as Bear leaves, discouraged, she asks, “Could you do nothing here with me?” Bear is delighted: “It’s one of the things I’m best at.” By the next story, Bird has recovered, but on a cloud-watching walk, the pals find a hole with a sign: “DO NOT GO IN THE HOLE.” The friends end up separated. Bird erroneously comes to believe that Bear is in the hole and, while trying to extricate him, falls in herself. Luckily Bear is nearby and comes to the rescue. In “The Mole,” a new character arrives and threatens Bird and Bear’s pair-bond. Jealous Bird tries rude behavior to get Mole to leave. When that only makes Mole laugh, she mocks Bear to get more laughs, and Bear leaves—until the two set things right. In the final tale, Bear and Bird salvage a dud day through cheerful goodwill. Once more, Jarvis expertly weaves humor and heart into these friendship tales, resulting in a work that’s sweet yet never overly sentimental, brought to life by quirky illustrations.
The ups and downs of friendship, delivered with wit and whimsy. (Chapter book. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781536235449
Page Count: 65
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 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
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.
Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.
Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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