by Johanna Hurwitz & illustrated by Eileen McKeating ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1995
In this sequel to Roz and Ozzie (1992), Ozzie, eight, is spending the summer alone. With Roz away in England with her parents for two months, he is out of things to do. His hobbies and his talent for tripping innocently into trouble fail to keep him from boredom. He makes new friends, who launch a club in an old chicken coop; just when summer is looking brighter, Ozzie's father has a heart attack and is hospitalized. A delicate b&w drawing conveys the sad moment when the paramedics drive away, and is characteristic of the illustrations effectively placed throughout. Hurwitz, known for her middle-grade fiction, has written a gently affecting story with the same lighthearted touch she uses for comedy. No big tearjerker, this is a simple, poignant recounting of events by an ordinary boy. Ozzie is real; his fears and concerns are palpable. The details of everyday life glow with the warmth of good hearts and close families. (Fiction. 7+)
Pub Date: April 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-688-13742-3
Page Count: 115
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995
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by Johanna Hurwitz ; illustrated by Tuesday Mourning
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by Johanna Hurwitz ; illustrated by Tuesday Mourning
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edited by Johanna Hurwitz
by Mae Respicio ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2018
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love.
A 13-year-old biracial girl longs to build the house of her dreams.
For Lou Bulosan-Nelson, normal is her “gigantic extended family squished into Lola’s for every holiday imaginable.” She shares a bedroom with her Filipina mother, Minda—a former interior-design major and current nurse-to-be—in Lola Celina’s San Francisco home. From her deceased white father, Michael, Lou inherited “not-so-Filipino features,” his love for architecture, and some land. Lou’s quietude implies her keen eye for details, but her passion for creating with her hands resonates loudly. Pining for something to claim as her own, she plans to construct a house from the ground up. When her mom considers moving out of state for a potential job and Lou’s land is at risk of being auctioned off, Lou stays resilient, gathering support from both friends and family to make her dream a reality. Respicio authentically depicts the richness of Philippine culture, incorporating Filipino language, insights into Lou’s family history, and well-crafted descriptions of customs, such as the birdlike Tinikling dance and eating kamayan style (with one’s hands), throughout. Lou’s story gives voice to Filipino youth, addressing cultural differences, the importance of bayanihan (community), and the true meaning of home.
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love. (Fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1794-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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by Mae Respicio
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by Mae Respicio
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by Mae Respicio
by Raina Telgemeier ; illustrated by Raina Telgemeier ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 26, 2014
A wonderfully charming tale of family and sisters that anyone can bond with.
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Two sisters who are constantly at odds take a family road trip that covers more ground—both literally and figuratively—than they expect.
After begging her parents for a sister, Raina gets more than she bargained for once Amara is born. From the moment she was brought home, Amara hasn’t been quite the cuddly playmate that Raina had hoped. As the years pass, the girls bicker constantly and apparently couldn’t be more unalike: Raina spends her time indoors underneath her headphones, and Amara loves animals and the outdoors. The girls, their mother and their little brother all pack up to drive to a family reunion, and it seems like the trip’s just going to be more of the same, with the girls incessantly picking on each other all the way from San Francisco to Colorado. However, when the trip doesn’t go quite as planned—for a number of reasons—the girls manage to find some common ground. Told in then-and-now narratives that are easily discernable in the graphic format, Telgemeier’s tale is laugh-out-loud funny (especially the story about the snake incident) and quietly serious all at once. Her rounded, buoyant art coupled with a masterful capacity for facial expressions complements the writing perfectly. Fans of her previous books Smile (2010) and Drama (2012) shouldn’t miss this one; it’s a winner.
A wonderfully charming tale of family and sisters that anyone can bond with. (Graphic memoir. 7-13)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-54059-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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by Raina Telgemeier ; illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
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by Raina Telgemeier ; illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
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by Raina Telgemeier ; illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
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