Gooney Bird doesn't need much help putting herself on the map. She'll be famous for years to come.
Feisty and full of ideas (as always), Gooney Bird Greene is back.
It is now February in Mrs. Pidgeon’s second-grade classroom. There are valentines to be made and presidential birthdays to be celebrated (Gooney Bird makes sure no one forgets poor William Henry Harrison, even if he was only president for one month). But hearts and U.S. history pale in comparison to what is on every kid’s mind: school vacation. The children squirm excitedly and can’t stop chattering about surfing in Hawaii or snowboarding in Vermont. However, exactly 12 minus three of them (Mrs. Pidgeon can sneak a math problem in anywhere) do not have any exciting travel plans at all. They are glum. Luckily, Gooney Bird has an outlandishly fabulous idea—they will build a map of the entire United States outside in the snow on the playground. All of this geography talk can’t go to waste! The true-to-life voices and a multitude of personalities make it easy for readers to step into Mrs. Pidgeon’s class and feel right at home.
Gooney Bird doesn't need much help putting herself on the map. She'll be famous for years to come. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-55622-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
Not up to the standards set by Adler’s Cam Jansen but an enjoyable light read.
What could have turned mean Mrs. Cakel nice?
Ten-year-old Danny’s fourth-grade teacher has rules about everything, and her favorite word is “No.” No mumbling. No slouching. No passing notes. No eating in class. Danny’s unconventional friend, Calvin Waffle, is always getting into trouble. Then Mrs. Cakel suddenly turns nice. The boys decide to investigate (Calvin says his father’s a spy, so he knows “lots of spy tricks”). When they find their teacher’s house, they discover “lost dog” posters all over the neighborhood, and when they call the number on the posters, Mrs. Cakel answers. The friends decide to find the dog, get the reward and return Mrs. Cakel to normal. Meanwhile, Calvin’s scattered mother gets a new job, and Danny’s father loses his. With all these changes, will the boys still make the right choices? Though it starts with a head-scratcher—why would the boys and their friends want the mean Mrs. Cakel back?—Adler’s second tale of doodle-loving Danny features real kid characters with real kid perspectives on the adult world. Danny’s actual doodles feel a bit of an afterthought or a gimmicky grab at the younger fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but this quirky tale of genuine friendship is still worth a look.
Not up to the standards set by Adler’s Cam Jansen but an enjoyable light read. (Mystery. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4022-8728-2
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
Skip.
Recipes alternate with the fairy and folk tales that inspired them in this Italian import.
Unfortunately, neither element shines. The tales, while a great mix of well-known favorites and new ones (“The Six Swans,” “The Wolf and the Seven Kids”), are each crammed on a single page and lack clear paragraph divisions, making them quite difficult to read. But the recipes are the book’s biggest weakness. Many of the ingredients are not cheap and may prove hard to find for U.S. readers—gelatin sheets, vanilla pod, icing sugar (though both U.S. and metric measurements are included). Similarly, lots of kitchen gadgets are used—molds, mixer, blender, stick mixer, food processor, bain-marie (there’s no glossary). Some of the recipes seem to be missing steps (cut using cookie cutters, but there’s no mention of rolling the dough) or are not specific enough—“stew the apples in the pan for several minutes”; “add rice and wait until it is cooked”; “1 jar of your favorite jam”; “glass” as a unit of measure—and there is no note about safety or parental supervision. Attanasio’s digital illustrations feature large-headed characters with tiny limbs and bodies, but the details shown don’t always match the text, and a couple of recipes involving shaping puff pastry truly need photos. Finally, the book’s audience is difficult to pin down—the complexity of the recipes eliminates most fairy-tale readers.
Skip. (index of recipes and ingredients) (Cookbook/fairy tales. 8-10)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-88-544-0869-2
Page Count: 54
Publisher: White Star
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
