A teacher’s tool that reaches beyond borrowed pencils and hall passes.
Poems gathered herein cover a wide range of issues imposed on young children in school settings. Dakos handles difficult topics deftly. “Something Splendid,” a poem about a kid ripping a few legs off a daddy longlegs written in the voice of a disgusted, dismayed classmate, is poignant and penetrating. And the titular poem, in which a child ponders all the great things hiding inside him, shines because of its playful, accessible grace. However, the somber “Talking to the Mirror in My Bathroom,” in which a young girl musters the courage to disclose abuse to her school librarian, is placed beside a sweet, short rhyming verse about friendship across language barriers called “We Giggle the Same.” The shift is jarring. Topics aren’t the only thing that vary, as some poems rhyme, others don’t; some are short and sweet, others short stories. The selections—almost half from prior publications—seem to have been gathered with the publisher’s mission front of mind, suiting it best for a teacher’s class collection or a school counselor. For recreational purposes, it’s a discordant read. Oliver’s ink drawings enhance the overall book but can’t make up for the fact that a poem about a dead dog (“On the Day My Dog Died”) is placed beside the somewhat giddy short poem “Don’t Tell Me.”
Odd juxtapositions make reading this like brain freeze—unexpected and not totally enjoyable. (Poetry. 7-11)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3519-3
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S POETRY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Though the lessons weigh more heavily than in The One and Only Ivan, a potential disappointment to its fans, the story is...
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Applegate tackles homelessness in her first novel since 2013 Newbery winner The One and Only Ivan.
Hunger is a constant for soon-to-be fifth-grader Jackson and his family, and the accompanying dizziness may be why his imaginary friend is back. A giant cat named Crenshaw first appeared after Jackson finished first grade, when his parents moved the family into their minivan for several months. Now they’re facing eviction again, and Jackson’s afraid that he won’t be going to school next year with his friend Marisol. When Crenshaw shows up on a surfboard, Jackson, an aspiring scientist who likes facts, wonders whether Crenshaw is real or a figment of his imagination. Jackson’s first-person narrative moves from the present day, when he wishes that his parents understood that he’s old enough to hear the truth about the family’s finances, to the first time they were homeless and back to the present. The structure allows readers access to the slow buildup of Jackson’s panic and his need for a friend and stability in his life. Crenshaw tells Jackson that “Imaginary friends don’t come of their own volition. We are invited. We stay as long as we’re needed.” The cat’s voice, with its adult tone, is the conduit for the novel’s lessons: “You need to tell the truth, my friend….To the person who matters most of all.”
Though the lessons weigh more heavily than in The One and Only Ivan, a potential disappointment to its fans, the story is nevertheless a somberly affecting one . (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-04323-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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