The focus of this entry in the Journey Between Two Worlds series is not a family; instead, Greenberg (Magic Johnson, 1992, etc.) succinctly covers the history and politics of Haiti and how the latter has affected refugees, one family in particular. An introduction defines refugees and the different reasons for the displacement of people; it is seen as a complex problem with ``no easy answers.'' The history of Haiti is described, as are recent events there; the effect of these events upon Bazelais Beaubrun and his wife and four children is clear—thus, history comes alive. Readers learn of the family's persecution, the perilous voyage by flimsy boat to the US, detention at a Florida camp, and immigration to New York City. The city is not paradise; they live in a dangerous neighborhood and cling to connections with their Haitian community; Greenberg also presents the advantages of their new life, and it is telling that the family elects to stay in New York while a democracy is set into place in their homeland. A worthy and fascinating introduction to issues of politics, history, and sociology, the book has some flaws: occasionally choppy transitions, short shrift on customs and religion, and disruptive parenthetical explications of words, e.g., ``colony (overseas settlement)''; it's a patchy solution to the problem of addressing difficult concepts. For the most part, the quality of the illustrative material is clear and instructive; a painting of ``boat people'' at sea being rescued by a helicopter is heart-wrenching. (further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Jan. 7, 1998
ISBN: 0-8225-3410-X
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Lerner
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1997
With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating...
Nicholas is a bright boy who likes to make trouble at school, creatively.
When he decides to torment his fifth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Granger (who is just as smart as he is), by getting everyone in the class to replace the word "pen'' with "frindle,'' he unleashes a series of events that rapidly spins out of control. If there's any justice in the world, Clements (Temple Cat, 1995, etc.) may have something of a classic on his hands. By turns amusing and adroit, this first novel is also utterly satisfying. The chess-like sparring between the gifted Nicholas and his crafty teacher is enthralling, while Mrs. Granger is that rarest of the breed: a teacher the children fear and complain about for the school year, and love and respect forever after.
With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating tale—one to press upon children, and one they'll be passing among themselves. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-689-80669-8
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1996
Not for the faint-hearted—who are mostly adults anyway—but for stouthearted kids who love a brush with the sinister:...
A magnificently creepy fantasy pits a bright, bored little girl against a soul-eating horror that inhabits the reality right next door.
Coraline’s parents are loving, but really too busy to play with her, so she amuses herself by exploring her family’s new flat. A drawing-room door that opens onto a brick wall becomes a natural magnet for the curious little girl, and she is only half-surprised when, one day, the door opens onto a hallway and Coraline finds herself in a skewed mirror of her own flat, complete with skewed, button-eyed versions of her own parents. This is Gaiman’s (American Gods, 2001, etc.) first novel for children, and the author of the Sandman graphic novels here shows a sure sense of a child’s fears—and the child’s ability to overcome those fears. “I will be brave,” thinks Coraline. “No, I am brave.” When Coraline realizes that her other mother has not only stolen her real parents but has also stolen the souls of other children before her, she resolves to free her parents and to find the lost souls by matching her wits against the not-mother. The narrative hews closely to a child’s-eye perspective: Coraline never really tries to understand what has happened or to fathom the nature of the other mother; she simply focuses on getting her parents back and thwarting the other mother for good. Her ability to accept and cope with the surreality of the other flat springs from the child’s ability to accept, without question, the eccentricity and arbitrariness of her own—and every child’s own—reality. As Coraline’s quest picks up its pace, the parallel world she finds herself trapped in grows ever more monstrous, generating some deliciously eerie descriptive writing.
Not for the faint-hearted—who are mostly adults anyway—but for stouthearted kids who love a brush with the sinister: Coraline is spot on. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: July 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-380-97778-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2002
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