by Lucy Nolan & illustrated by Mike Reed ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2005
Down Girl and Sit are best friends. They are also dogs, dogs who enjoy the finer things of canine life, including chasing squirrels, bothering their masters and eating crumbs. The charming first-canine point of view really works here—partly because Nolan keeps her dog’s voice steady and humorous, and partly because she really seems to think like a dog. The first of the four linked stories involves a drive to the beach and an exciting episode where the car’s brake fails and the two dogs “drive” down the beach. Because Down Girl sees the world through canine glasses, the reader is treated to some amusing takes on dog behavior. For instance, when Down Girl and Sit find a bag of two doughnuts, they have to decide who gets them. “Hmm. There were two dogs, two masters, and two doughnuts. That sounded about right. Thank goodness dogs don’t know math. That makes all our decisions easy. We ate the doughnuts.” Kids will want to curl up with their best friend and laugh at the adventures of Down Girl and Sit. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-7614-5234-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2005
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by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Bee Willey ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2000
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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by Melissa Thomson and illustrated by Frank Morrison ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2009
Keena Ford’s second-grade class is taking a field trip to the United States Capitol. This good-hearted girl works hard to behave, but her impulsive decisions have a way of backfiring, no matter how hard she tries to do the right thing. In this second book in a series, Keena cuts off one of her braids and later causes a congressman to fall down the stairs. The first-person journal format is a stretch—most second graders can barely write, let alone tell every detail of three days of her life. Children will wonder how Keena can cut one of her “two thick braids” all the way off by pretend-snipping in the air. They will be further confused because the cover art clearly shows Keena with a completely different hairdo on the field trip than the one described. Though a strong African-American heroine is most welcome in chapter books and Keena and her family are likable and realistic, this series needs more polish before Keena writes about her next month in school. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3264-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2009
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