An often lively romp that concludes the adventures of Lucy and her ever-present phantom friend.
A ghost story for middle-grade readers about a young girl and an unlikely crew hunting for a centuries-old pirate’s treasure.
Retired teacher Mair (The Ghost of Mad Jack Halloran, 2013, etc.) delivers the final part of a trilogy chronicling the ghost pirate’s haunting of 14-year-old English girl Lucy Roberts. Mad Jack Halloran and his wife, Sarah, are stuck in limbo as ghosts because Jack’s vast fortune, left in Singapore a century ago, still needs to be returned to its owner. Jack trails his host, Lucy, to school, and soon she has to cover up for the blunders of a ghost who’s more dopey than dastardly. She enlists her uncle Harry, an inspector who previously conjured Jack’s ghost with an incantation, to help find Jack’s treasure. But Mair quickly complicates matters: Before, Jack only bothered Lucy and her family, but now everyday people can sometimes see and hear him. When Uncle Harry, Lucy and her snarky best friend, Alison, board a flight to Singapore, Jack is terrified: “One look out of the window and Jack went deathly pale (which is quite an achievement for a ghost).” Panic ensues, and Harry, Lucy and Alison get deported as soon as they land. Back in England, a coincidence leads the gang to Master Chang, overseer of Jack’s fortune in Singapore, who can settle their debts and finally release the ghost couple from their curse. At its best, this is a spirited tale that delights in the absurd. However, there are some inconsistencies in the story’s supernatural setup, especially regarding Jack and Sarah’s seemingly arbitrary visibility. The book’s target audience of tweens likely won’t mind some of the story’s obvious plot twists and heavy-handed foreshadowing, but its eye-rolling jokes and overemphasized angst sometimes slow the story down.
An often lively romp that concludes the adventures of Lucy and her ever-present phantom friend.Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2014
ISBN: 978-1492977223
Page Count: 226
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A charming day-in-the-life adventure for newly independent readers.
A boy manages to keep a huge secret in this chapter book.
This engaging tale about a black family explains how Ardwick “Ardie” Edward Smith concealed an important secret. Ardie knows he must stay busy to deflect his parents’ suspicions. But when soccer practice in the yard and his porch-rail balancing draw their attention, he realizes he needs a different strategy. He confides in a helpful teacher, who suggests he concoct a project. After choosing one, he collects supplies from around the house, distracting his parents by pretending he’s a detective on a case. A subplot about how he finds it hard to share with his younger brother provides readers with their first clue. Ardie has a big brother who lives far away—and it’s this sibling who told him the secret. As the clues mount and Ardie finishes his project, readers should be as delighted as his family about the big surprise and happy to see how the supplies came into play. Seay’s (The Girl Who Loved Pots, 2017) frequent computer-generated illustrations of the family are perfect in tone and provide extra details and plenty of clues for beginning readers. Siblings are sure to identify with Ardie, and the author’s use of suspense in slowly revealing hints about the secret should keep the audience guessing.
A charming day-in-the-life adventure for newly independent readers.Pub Date: June 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9985576-4-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: PicBooks Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A simple but effective teaching tool that may help spark youngsters’ love of nature.
A rabbit appreciates friends and flowers in this children’s picture book.
As a little brown bunny sits in the grass by a garden, various birds ask what he’s doing. In every case, he answers with a formulaic phrase containing the name of a particular flower. For example, he tells a goldfinch, “I am eating this delicious green grass and looking at the purple petunias.” The flowers are quite varied, and each bird engages in a typical activity, such as singing sweet bird song (the chickadee) or flying from blossom to blossom (the hummingbird), with matching illustrations. After seven such encounters, the bunny raises his head to the blue sky and says, “I thank you, God, for the birds, the flowers, and my animal friends.” In her debut, Barbara Mancine tells a simple story, full of the repetition that small children love. Many other picture books teach colors, but this one goes further than most to supply the names and appearances of common blooms and avian friends. It’s a good read-aloud choice that allows listeners to anticipate the bunny’s answers. Amie Mancine’s realistic, well-composed, and attractive debut illustrations are charming and, of course, colorful. The religious message is subtle and nondenominational, allowing for a fairly wide audience.
A simple but effective teaching tool that may help spark youngsters’ love of nature.Pub Date: March 22, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4808-5877-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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