A pleasing tribute to New York’s bright lights, unique sights and architectural flights.
A breezy 3-D ramble through the core of the Big Apple, from Battery Park to the Bronx Zoo.
Moving generally south to north, the five spreads offer clusters of skyscrapers capped by a telescoping Empire State Building that rears up to over 18 inches with a pull. Other prominent structures range from the Brooklyn and George Washington bridges to Yankee Stadium (the new one). Some newer landmarks, such as the High Line and the 9/11 Memorial, pop up among the traditional tourist stops. Along with sidelights, looks inside and descriptive captions on the backs of the cut-out buildings, explanatory labels and flaps add historical notes, identify at least a few neighborhoods and give shoutouts to New York’s food, children’s books, native music, and prominent residents of the past and present. Like the author’s Pop-Up London (2012), the geography is too creative and compressed to serve as a reliable on-the-ground tour guide, and aside from the Bronx, the “outer boroughs” are largely left to shuffle off to Buffalo. Still, this evocation of the city’s bustle as well as its general layout will put both residents and temporary guests in a New York state of mind.
A pleasing tribute to New York’s bright lights, unique sights and architectural flights. (Pop-up informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7162-4
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Trisha is ready to start at a new school, where no one will know she has dyslexia. At first, she is heartbroken to be in Miss Peterson’s special-ed class, aka, “the junkyard.” But Miss Peterson treats the children as anything but junk, showing them that everyone has a unique talent. Polacco’s trademark style is fully present here; her sensitively drawn alter ego shines with depth of feeling. When bullying occurs, Miss Peterson proves her students are worthwhile by planning a junkyard field trip, where they find valuable objects to be used in exciting ways. Trisha’s group repairs a plane, and the class buys an engine for it. Then a beloved class member dies, and the children must find a way to honor him. While the plot meanders somewhat, the characters are appealing, believable and provide a fine portrayal of a truly special class. Children will be drawn in by the story’s warmth and gentle humor and will leave with a spark of inspiration, an appreciation of individual differences and a firm anti-bullying message, all underscored by the author’s note that concludes the book. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-25078-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.
Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.
Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-448-48239-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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