Another can’t-miss outing with an irresistible, introverted antihero.
Anxious, antisocial Wolf avoids, then confronts, a crisis involving an overdue book.
Absorbed in his book, Wolf ignores the postman’s cries of “Mail!” until a flung missive hits his backside. The third notice from an old-school tyrant known as “The Stern Librarian” warns that he will be forever banned from borrowing books unless he returns his tome that very day. Reluctant to go to the library (where he might encounter “noisy kids having fun”—horrors!), Wolf tries unsuccessfully to mail his book back. Next, Wolf encounters the jolly hiker (whom readers may remember from earlier titles) and attempts to trick him into returning the book, but his plans go awry. Wolf’s now desperate to reach the library before the crowd of kids arrives for storytime. Will the imperious librarian and the rude children defeat him? Can he take matters into his own paws and return to his comfortable chaise longue? Surrounded as he is by unsympathetic public servants and literally snotty youngsters, Wolf’s isolationist obsessions are all too understandable. The tightly focused sentences move briskly in Thomas and Steele’s third wryly clever installment; developing readers will giggle while eagerly turning pages. The art again perfectly suits the droll, understated text as googly-eyed, squat kids and a desiccated, grumpy librarian join the crotchety but somehow cuddly Wolf. (His book choices? A Room of One’s Own and Howl.) The human cast is diverse.
Another can’t-miss outing with an irresistible, introverted antihero. (Early reader. 6-9)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9780823457809
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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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