A valuable conversation starter.
When something bad is found on the wall in the girls’ bathroom at school, an entire class must learn what it means for their community.
A first-person narrator tells the tale of the day “the bad-something” was found on the wall. All the girls are called to the principal’s office. Mrs. Martínez asks them who did it and tells them that this will not be tolerated. The narrator and her friends sneak into the bathroom to see what was written, and seeing it makes them feel worse. Everyone finds out what the “bad-something” was (readers do not), and people begin to eye one another suspiciously, wondering who is guilty. Parents are affected, and the classroom dynamic is strained, but slowly, the school takes steps to remind the community that they are better than this incident. The children spend days making art on the wall. When they worry that the “bad-something” is still there under their beautiful contributions, they talk and write poems about how their painting has more good than bad in it, and so does the world. The honest, matter-of-fact narration places readers squarely in the shoes of the child in the troubled class and offers multiple ways to look at one’s roles in the world and in one’s communities. The smudgy, scratchy illustrations effectively use color and tone to convey mood, with realistically diverse characters and abstract representations of the joyful art they create. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A valuable conversation starter. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-12)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5742-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
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