Patchy but farcical and, occasionally, explosive.
Kidnappers from the United States and other challenges face young Ellis and her poppable companion in this Dutch import’s second episode.
The kidnappers, Farmer Bill and cold-eyed corporate executive Coraline Corn, aren’t after popcorn-loving Ellis but her tantrum-prone buddy Bob, an illegally enhanced kernel the size of a kiwi (fruit) that was exported to the Netherlands by mistake. Distracted by both the need to keep Bob’s existence a secret from her dads and everyone else and her efforts to sneak pocketsful of popcorn into school where it has been unjustly banned as an unhealthy food, Ellis has no idea that Bob’s in danger. But then he’s suddenly snatched in the middle of a school field day sponsored by wildly popular internet nutrition guru Holly Jolly. What to do? Rinck seems so enamored of her premise (which was already well developed in the 2021 opener, Popcorn Bob) that she has trouble spinning out an actual plotline or moving it along. Still, there’s a lot of random scrambling about and gloriously muddy foolery—much of it carried on silently or nearly so in the graphite drawings that share every page with the short lines of generously sized narrative. She brings it to a happy close that’s expedited by some unexpected help from one of the supposed bad guys. Ellis and her dads are White, but her friend Dante and some of her schoolmates are depicted with shaded skin.
Patchy but farcical and, occasionally, explosive. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64614-095-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Levine Querido
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
Lively fun with animal friends.
Has Plum’s pep deserted him?
Several animals from the Athensville Zoo are on their way to visit an elementary school. Overconfident Itch the ningbing (an Australian marsupial), unaware that zookeeper Lizzie will be doing all the talking, looks forward to “lecturing eager young minds.” Plum, the usually chipper peacock, on the other hand, is anxious—maybe the schoolchildren won’t like him or he’ll get lost. So when they arrive at the school to find the students have been sent home due to a blizzard, Plum is relieved. The animals are left in a school gym for the night until three self-important class mice free them. Itch heads for the library to meet the learned turtle, but Plum reluctantly explores with his friends. When his anxiety peaks, they reassure him, and when the mice reject Meg, another peacock, as “borrrring” and uncool, they buoy her as well before everyone comes together to save Itch, who finds himself outside and stranded in a snowdrift. Unlike Leave It to Plum (2022), this is not a mystery, and the relationship focus shifts from Lizzie to the rodents, but the pace is brisk, and sequel seekers will be pleased to revisit familiar characters (if dismayed that Itch’s longing for knowledge leads to his downfall). In Phelan’s engaging grayscale pen-and-wash illustrations, Lizzie has short curly hair; text and art cue her as Latine.
Lively fun with animal friends. (how to draw Plum) (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-307920-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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