This debut kicks off a series; here’s hoping the plots are more believable in the future.
Anyone with a difficult-to-appreciate sibling will feel sorry for fifth-grader Masha, older sister of precocious, gifted Sunny Sweet.
Everywhere she turns, Masha is confronted by her inquisitive, brilliant, irrepressible first-grade sister. Everyone but rule-following Masha seems to find Sunny adorable and cute, even when she concocts a new adhesive and glues a bunch of plastic flowers to Masha’s head. This time, Masha knows Sunny has gone too far. But even that tonsorial disaster is not enough to take their mother’s doting attention away from the little genius. Unfortunately, this promising setup falls prey to numerous problems with believability. While readers might be able to understand that the jealous older sister might indulge in hyperbole to bolster her case, it’s hard to accept the over-the-top exaggeration in the plot. When the sisters end up in the hospital via a neighbor’s ambulance ride, the plot twists strain credulity. The nurses treat both girls without parental permission; Masha ends up getting a shot of a painkiller and being put in a cast when she is mistaken for another patient; the staff loses both girls and a patient with whooping cough. Both girls have cellphones, but they do not have their mother’s work number entered in. Secondary characters, like the oddly absent father, are left undeveloped, while Sunny threatens to take over.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59990-977-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape.
The fourth installment in Delacre’s early-reader series centers on the rich musical traditions of Puerto Rico, once again featuring sibling tree frogs Rafi and Rosi Coquí.
Readers learn along with Rafi and Rosi as they explore bomba, plena, and salsa in three chapters. A glossary at the beginning sets readers up well to understand the Spanish vocabulary, including accurate phoneticization for non-Spanish speakers. The stories focus on Rafi and Rosi’s relationship within a musical context. For example, in one chapter Rafi finds out that he attracts a larger audience playing his homemade güiro with Rosi’s help even though he initially excluded her: “Big brothers only.” Even when he makes mistakes, as the older brother, Rafi consoles Rosi when she is embarrassed or angry at him. In each instance, their shared joy for music and dance ultimately shines through any upsets—a valuable reflection of unity. Informational backmatter and author’s sources are extensive. Undoubtedly these will help teachers, librarians, and parents to develop Puerto Rican cultural programs, curriculum, or home activities to extend young readers’ learning. The inclusion of instructions to make one’s own homemade güiro is a thoughtful addition. The Spanish translation, also by Delacre and published simultaneously, will require a more advanced reader than the English one to recognize and comprehend contractions (“pa’bajo-pa-pa’rriba”) and relatively sophisticated vocabulary.
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape. (Early reader. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-89239-429-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Children's Book Press
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Another uproarious romp that explores what it is to be good as well as do good.
The foursome of reformed villains returns with a new mission and new team member in a continued effort to repair their reputations in Blabey's (The Bad Guys, 2017) rollicking sequel.
This second installment opens with our would-be heroes, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark, and Mr. Piranha, fresh from their bold liberation of the local pound, finding that the media is not spinning in their favor. Accused of terrorizing rather than rescuing, the group (at least Mr. Wolf) refuses to admit defeat—"We're the GOOD GUYS here!"—and begins planning a new mission to free innocent chickens from their deplorable confinement in the Sunnyside Chicken Farm. But if the team can't work together—something all the more difficult with the team a little panicked by the addition of Legs (a friendly, tech-genius tarantula) and one of the group suspiciously excited to greet the chickens—a rescue mission may be all but impossible. Despite some language devaluing of mental diversity (“freak out,” “loco,” etc.) that may turn some readers off, Blabey once again deploys moral ambiguity to overall success, challenging fear as a justification for prejudice and mistakes as reasons to give up. The narrative has lost no comic momentum from first to second book, juxtaposing classic riffs on Mission Impossible and new visual gags unique to these delightfully wry characters.
Another uproarious romp that explores what it is to be good as well as do good. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-91241-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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