by Katy Kelly & illustrated by Peter Ferguson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 11, 2007
The dynamic, self-assured Lucy Rose continues her fourth-grade diary entries following the Christmas break to the end of the school year. Still busy as ever, Lucy Rose spends lots of time planning and unsuccessfully executing several money-making schemes to help best friend Jonique and her parents build a new bakery from an old plumbing store in disrepair. Despite her can-do attitude, Lucy Rose is dismayed by classmate Ashley’s incessant teasing, creating rumors about Lucy’s romance with good friend Melonhead. Yet when Ashley’s true reasons for her own unhappiness are inadvertently revealed through an outright lie, a new dilemma emerges for Lucy Rose. She would REALLY like to expose Ashley for a satisfying payback, but isn’t sure she should. Kelly continues her protagonist’s winning chatty journal with enough wordplay and banter to keep kids and adults sympathetically nodding their heads for this young heroine. Lucy Rose sports an attitude on life’s ups and downs that is “excellent-O” with the supportive cast of friends and family that readers have come to enjoy. “D-double-D-licious”–sounding recipes for “Lucy Roses” cupcakes and “Sweet Joniques” cookies appended in the same fun-loving style for kids to follow. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-385-73408-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2007
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by Katy Kelly ; illustrated by Gillian Johnson
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by Katy Kelly & illustrated by Gillian Johnson
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by Katy Kelly & illustrated by Gillian Johnson
by Kate DiCamillo ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2000
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Newbery Honor Book
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice. India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too. A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
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by Kate DiCamillo ; illustrated by Julie Morstad
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by Kate DiCamillo ; illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
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SEEN & HEARD
by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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by Christina Li
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