Robby Hummer (Nekomah Creek, 1991, etc.) is now a year older and has a better teacher; and his small Oregon community is no longer questioning his parents' domestic arrangements (happy-go- lucky Dad is in charge of the rambunctious three-year-old twins, while artist Mom works outside the home). This holiday season the 'ifth-grader's concerns involve a school play, a relic of the `40s chosen as safe from any religious complaints. Its quality, however, is dreadful; and when best friend Jesse bows out, Robbie finds himself cast as Head Elf, despite his reluctance to perform in public. Meanwhile, in the National Forest where Alfie, a reclusive Vietnam vet, can sometimes be heard bemoaning his troubles, the family cuts their allotted Christmas tree and little Freddie loses his beloved toy, Buddy Wabbit. Money's tight after Mom loses a contract, the IRS decides to audit, and Robby dreads the holiday arrival of cousins he remembers as non simpatico. As might be expected, all this works out pleasantly (Mom and Dad overpaid the IRS), with plenty of comic turns and some that are gratifyingly unexpected. And if Robby's musings about his classmates' differing beliefs and his own are obviously crafted to cover the ground from fundamentalist to atheist, they are also believably those of a thoughtful 10-year-old from an undogmatic, churchgoing family. Wholesome, easily read fare, funny and wonderfully true to life. Once again, the Hummers are winners. (Illustrations, not seen) (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-385-32047-7
Page Count: 147
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1994
Plays to Rowling’s fan base; equally suited for gifting and reading aloud or alone.
A 7-year-old descends into the Land of the Lost in search of his beloved comfort object.
Jack has loved Dur Pig long enough to wear the beanbag toy into tattered shapelessness—which is why, when his angry older stepsister chucks it out the car window on Christmas Eve, he not only throws a titanic tantrum and viciously rejects the titular replacement pig, but resolves to sneak out to find DP. To his amazement, the Christmas Pig offers to guide him to the place where all lost Things go. Whiffs of childhood classics, assembled with admirable professionalism into a jolly adventure story that plays all the right chords, hang about this tale of loss and love. Along with family drama, Rowling stirs in fantasy, allegory, and generous measures of social and political commentary. Pursued by the Land’s cruel and monstrous Loser, Jack and the Christmas Pig pass through territories from the Wastes of the Unlamented, where booger-throwing Bad Habits roam, to the luxurious City of the Missed for encounters with Hope, Happiness, and Power (a choleric king who rejects a vote that doesn’t go his way). A joyful reunion on the Island of the Beloved turns poignant, but Christmas Eve being “a night for miracles and lost causes,” perhaps there’s still a chance (with a little help from Santa) for everything to come right? In both the narrative and Field’s accomplished, soft-focus illustrations, the cast presents White.
Plays to Rowling’s fan base; equally suited for gifting and reading aloud or alone. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-79023-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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