The first, utterly adorable book in a new chapter-book series.
Addie Gibson, a white girl in Bishop’s illustrations, is bored and lonely in her new home. During an exploration of the forest behind her house, Addie meets a colorful butterfly named Sky Dance; however, Sky Dance isn’t an everyday, nonmagical butterfly—she’s a Wishing Wing, and the entrance to her home, Wishing Wing Grove, is on the other side of the woods. Sky Dance and the Wishing Wings need Addie’s help. Someone has placed a dark enchantment on New Blooms—Wishing Wings who have just emerged from their chrysalides. The effects of the enchantment are unclear, except that it seems to cause New Blooms to forget both who they are and their mission: to spread the lightness of mind that is intrinsic to the butterfly spirit. New Blooms must grant a wish by sunset on their first day out of the chrysalis, or they lose their magic forever. Sky Dance’s newly emerged sister, Shimmer Leaf, is one of the cursed and suffers from this mysterious butterfly amnesia. The solution is easy: Addie’s little sister, Clara, could use some cheering up; perhaps human girl and butterfly can help each other help their sisters. The story concludes with the promise of more adventure. Life lessons hover dangerously between subtle and pedantic, but they lean slightly closer toward less is more.
A cheery fantasy about making new friends, exploring new places, and learning to get along with your sister. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68119-491-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sweetly low-key and totally accessible.
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Billy Miller’s second-grade year is quietly spectacular in a wonderfully ordinary way.
Billy’s year begins with his worry over the lump on his head, a souvenir of a dramatic summer fall onto concrete: Will he be up to the challenges his new teacher promises in her letter to students? Quickly overshadowing that worry, however, is a diplomatic crisis over whether he has somehow offended Ms. Silver on the first day of school. Four sections—Teacher, Father, Sister and Mother—offer different and essential focal points for Billy’s life, allowing both him and readers to explore several varieties of creative endeavor, small adventures, and, especially, both challenges and successful problem-solving. The wonderfully self-possessed Sal, his 3-year-old sister, is to Billy much as Ramona is to Beezus, but without the same level of tension. Her pillowcase full of the plush yellow whales she calls the Drop Sisters (Raindrop, Gumdrop, etc.) is a memorable prop. Henkes offers what he so often does in these longer works for children: a sense that experiences don’t have to be extraordinary to be important and dramatic. Billy’s slightly dreamy interior life isn’t filled with either angst or boisterous silliness—rather, the moments that appear in these stories are clarifying bits of the universal larger puzzle of growing up, changing and understanding the world. Small, precise black-and-white drawings punctuate and decorate the pages.
Sweetly low-key and totally accessible. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-226812-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Suds Morton is not yet a “Fourth Grade Rat.” In this prequel to Spinelli's 1991 standby, he is a year younger and, according to his school’s traditional chant, he aspires to the sobriquet of “Third Grade Angel.”
When his teacher announces her intention of rewarding angelic behavior with a halo, Suds decides he wants to be the first angel. Between his cool new friend Joey, his wise mom and a little conclusion-jumping, he comes up with a plan. But, of course, his results are just a little off-kilter. Suds, nicknamed for his preference for calming soaks in bubble baths when he gets “chipmunky,” needs all the help he can get to deal with the various disasters and tribulations that threaten to overwhelm him. Along with the angel chase there’s a pesky little sister, a fifth-grade bully and total rejection by the girl he adores. Spinelli doesn’t miss a beat in recreating the characters from the earlier work and never reveals any hint of Suds’ fourth-grade future. He lets readers into Suds’ 8-year-old mind without condescension. His problems and concerns are treated comically but with genuine kindness. Suds is innocent, gullible and trusting; he is also entirely good-hearted.
Young readers will recognize Suds as one of their own and will gladly follow him to fourth grade. Sweet and funny. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-38772-9
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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