Amusing and satisfying.
Sixth grade wannabe astronaut Maple McNutt explores athletics.
In this second installment of Maple’s confessional, doodle-filled journals, much remains the same: Maple continues to idolize astronaut Jackie Grand (a woman who ran a marathon “IN SPACE!”), Maple’s mother still does PR for NASA, her father travels a lot for his job, and her sister, Juniper, displays a mean streak. Other things have changed, though: Lada and Maple are now not only research partners, but also best friends. The two of them have started to spend more time with Mahogany (“probably the smartest kid in our grade”), and they’re newly obsessed with running a mile fast enough to rank at the sixth grade level. Maple’s familiar cheeky tone, relatable vulnerability, and charmingly informal sketches pair well with the new storylines. Maple’s favorite teacher is now also her coach on the cross-country team, and his affable equanimity is an enjoyable foil for the energetic intensity of Maple and Lada. In pursuit of Operation Victory, the girls brave the adolescent indignities of public locker rooms, a first period, and a first pimple, all the while sharing their deepest, purest fears: “IS LIFE JUST A CONSTANT PERIOD THAT NOBODY EVER WARNS YOU ABOUT???” STEM-oriented readers will appreciate the ways in which these subjects are woven into the story. Lada, Maple, and their families appear to be white; there’s racial diversity among the supporting cast. (This review has been updated to reflect a change to the final version of the book.)
Amusing and satisfying. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781665941051
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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