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
Essential.
A measured corrective to pervasive myths about what is often referred to as the “first Thanksgiving.”
Contextualizing them within a Native perspective, Newell (Passamaquoddy) touches on the all-too-familiar elements of the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving and its origins and the history of English colonization in the territory now known as New England. In addition to the voyage and landfall of the Mayflower, readers learn about the Doctrine of Discovery that arrogated the lands of non-Christian peoples to European settlers; earlier encounters between the Indigenous peoples of the region and Europeans; and the Great Dying of 1616-1619, which emptied the village of Patuxet by 1620. Short, two- to six-page chapters alternate between the story of the English settlers and exploring the complex political makeup of the region and the culture, agriculture, and technology of the Wampanoag—all before covering the evolution of the holiday. Refreshingly, the lens Newell offers is a Native one, describing how the Wampanoag and other Native peoples received the English rather than the other way around. Key words ranging from estuary to discover are printed in boldface in the narrative and defined in a closing glossary. Nelson (a member of the Leech Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa) contributes soft line-and-color illustrations of the proceedings. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Essential. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-72637-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
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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