Although readers may have to push through the slow-moving middle, this enjoyable mystery has a satisfying ending and a...
Three children from disparate social groups at middle school team up to solve a mystery, becoming friends in the process, in this series kickoff.
Kelsey Case, a budding spy, is shy and quiet; Becca Morales, whose mom runs an animal sanctuary, is bubbly and popular; and Leo Polanski—well, he’s just weird. But also brilliant and much better characterized than the two more generic girls. The plot is set in motion when Kelsey rescues Becca’s runaway zorse (a horse/zebra cross) and hears mewing coming from a dumpster. Big-brained Leo is able to figure out how to move the heavy top, and the children find three kittens in a bag along with a clue, a receipt from a pet supply store. Determined to save the kittens and find the culprit, the three unlikely compatriots form a secret group, the titular Curious Cat Spy Club. Unfortunately, after the engaging setup, a long dry spot ensues as the children work the mystery and get to know each other, and the story doesn’t catch fire until the suspenseful final quarter. Although the novel clearly ends with the mystery solved, it leaves enough relationship questions unresolved to hopefully start the next installment at a gallop.
Although readers may have to push through the slow-moving middle, this enjoyable mystery has a satisfying ending and a neatly calibrated level of suspense for middle school readers . (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1376-7
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Utterly believable, this bittersweet story, complete with an author’s note identifying the real Ivan, will inspire a new...
How Ivan confronts his harrowing past yet stays true to his nature exemplifies everything youngsters need to know about courage.
Living in a "domain" of glass, metal and cement at the Big Top Mall, Ivan sometimes forgets whether to act like a gorilla or a human—except Ivan does not think much of humans. He describes their behavior as frantic, whereas he is a peaceful artist. Fittingly, Ivan narrates his tale in short, image-rich sentences and acute, sometimes humorous, observations that are all the more heartbreaking for their simple delivery. His sorrow is palpable, but he stoically endures the cruelty of humans until Ruby the baby elephant is abused. In a pivotal scene, Ivan finally admits his domain is a cage, and rather than let Ruby live and die in grim circumstances, he promises to save her. In order to express his plea in a painting, Ivan must bravely face buried memories of the lush jungle, his family and their brutal murder, which is recounted in a brief, powerful chapter sure to arouse readers’ passions. In a compelling ending, the more challenging question Applegate poses is whether or not Ivan will remember what it was like to be a gorilla. Spot art captures poignant moments throughout.
Utterly believable, this bittersweet story, complete with an author’s note identifying the real Ivan, will inspire a new generation of advocates. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-199225-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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