The latest Newbery winner spins a funny, light story about a couple of boys who take to heart a familiar chant: "First grade babies!/Second grade cats!/Third Grade angels!/Fourth grade rats!" Narrator Suds (so called because a warm bath is his most effective solace) is having a tough time complying with best- friend Joey's demand that he give up baby stuff like peanut-butter sandwiches and his treasured elephant-covered lunch box; macho behavior—such as being mean to little kids and creating chaos in his room—is even harder, while saying "No" to his mom proves almost impossible. Still, Joey's new behavior—especially his stoicism after a bee-sting—have such a dramatic effect on friend Judy's affections that Suds makes the effort, to the dismay of parents and teacher. Judy's regard turns out to be as fickle as it is self-serving; she literally leaves Suds up a tree after he rescues her cat. After Mom comes to the rescue, she and Joey's mother call a halt to the premature adolescent behavior—to everyone's relief. The humor here is broad but genuinely comical, while the kids' real concerns are presented with sympathy; the parents are laudably sensible, assertive, and good at keeping their cool. A fine addition to the Cleary/Hurwitz league. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0590442449
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1991
A family gathers to remember one of their own: a brother, an uncle, a mate, a son. Uncle Ron has died of AIDS (obviously, though it is never spelled out), and his mother, brother and sister-in-law, niece and nephew, and companion are sewing a panel for the great national memorial quilt. Lauren, the niece, narrates as the assembled recall Ron fondly while they pick and choose various items to sew on the panel. The sting of his death is particularly acute for Lauren; her uncle treated her as an adult, but knew how to throw his great protective arms around her—he was her teacher and her friend. Heartache a mile wide runs through this story, named in Lauren, hinted at in the brother, forceful in an old companion, and most apparent in Lauren’s grandmother, with clues that she will have to suffer alone (“Grandpa hadn’t come after Uncle Ron’s memorial service either,” and “ ‘Grandpa says he doesn’t know how to sew,’ “). The ending—the somber mood dissolves as everyone dances—feels contrived, but that doesn’t negate the value of this book, which allows readers to explore, as they so choose or not, related issues. In his first picture book, Hills’s soft-focus artwork serves mostly as a buffer to all the sharp emotions of the text. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-81592-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1998
Changeable skies arch over a third-grader's moodscape in this easy-reading chapter book from the versatile McDonald (The Night Iguana Left Home, 1999, etc). Whether it's having to sit next to Frank “Eats Paste” Pearl on the first day of school, having a toad relieve itself in her hand, or playing the role of a cavity at the Brush Your Teeth Week assembly while her little brother Stink gets to tour the White House, something is always putting Judy into a grouchy mood, at least for a while. The author casts her appealing protagonist with equally appealing friends, plus a brother who not only holds his own, but also has a redeeming ability to take a practical joke. She brings the episodic story to a satisfying climax in which Judy, instead of throwing a tantrum, resourcefully rescues her homework, a painstakingly constructed collage, after Stink accidentally splashes it with purple juice. Reynolds's black and white washes are perfectly placed to track Judy's ups and downs, though parts of the full spread scenes do vanish into the gutter. Surefire fare for Cleary, Kline, and Hurwitz fans. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0685-5
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2000
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