A dryly humorous celebration of solitude—and jelly beans.
Heavens, no, Wolf doesn’t need a pet for companionship: He’s still a proud misanthrope.
In his second outing, Wolf yearns for just one thing: jelly beans. But the whole stock has been bought up for prizes in a Best Pet competition. Wolf doesn’t like pets, but to score jelly beans, he concludes, he needs a special animal. Watching a hiker’s dog sitting up and rolling over convinces Wolf that a pooch will win him the beans. But his decision to adopt a dog ends with canid conflict. Wolf’s attempts to prop sunglasses on his adopted cat don't end well, either. Next, Wolf mounts a saddleless horse, but his sinister lupine smile makes the horse bolt. At the contest, Wolf opts to bring a goldfish. The other pets show off their paces: The cat gives a high-five; the horse hugs the judges. Wolf’s goldfish is trouble-free, but it doesn’t do a thing and doesn’t earn a prize. But the winner of the grand prize is quite taken with the goldfish…perhaps there’s a way for Wolf to get the coveted jelly beans after all. Refreshingly, Thomas lets Wolf remain his reclusive self—a choice that will readily endear him to readers. From the hiker’s lumpish dog to the grinning horse with a selfie stick and, finally, a blissed-out Wolf making jelly bean angels on the floor, the droll art contributes as much to this amusing story as the understated text does.
A dryly humorous celebration of solitude—and jelly beans. (Early reader. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780823457786
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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