An invisible friend from the 31st century turns out to be less help against the bully next door than a hopeful fifth-grader would like in this entertaining floater from the author of Oyster Moon (1996). As if Hoby Hobson doesn’t have enough worries, between his 8½-months pregnant mother and hulking Hammerhead Jones’s promise to sauté or fillet him sometime very soon, up pops jumpsuit-clad Zircus Orflandu, a thousand years off course after hitting the wrong control in his dad’s new space/time cruiser. Zirc comes with a personal dematerializer that only works intermittently—a comic device that, coupled with his ignorance of 21st-century ways, Meacham milks mercilessly as the two lads stumble into complications with practically every step. In an unlikely but satisfying climax, Hammerhead (“ ‘one galactic dworb,’ ” to use Zirc’s colorful phrase) is knocked down, tied up, and then grounded for bad behavior, after which Zirc takes off futureward and Hoby gets a baby brother to cherish. Not quite another Little Prince, perhaps, but young sitcom fans will be heartily amused. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2001
ISBN: 0-8234-1651-8
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Georgina and younger brother Toby begin a homeless life living in Mom’s car, having been evicted when Dad leaves. Mom tries her best to work two minimum-wage jobs in order to make the security deposit for a new apartment while the kids struggle daily to maintain normalcy in and out of school. Desperate to help Mom gain some significant cash, Georgina concocts a grand scheme to steal a dog, dupe the owner into offering a $500 reward and then return the designated pooch for the cash. As crazy as this sounds, O’Connor weaves a suspenseful and achingly realistic story, fleshing out characters that live and breathe anxiety, fortitude and a right vs. wrong consciousness. Colorful, supporting roles of a wise, kind vagrant and a lonely, overweight dog owner round out this story of childhood helplessness, ingenuity and desolation. Georgina’s reflections in a secretly kept “how-to” journal will have kids anticipating her misconceptions about the realities of theft and deception. A powerful portrayal from an innocently youthful perspective. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 6, 2007
ISBN: 0-374-33497-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2007
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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The new kid in school endures becoming the school mascot.
Ben Hardy has never cared for potatoes, and this distaste has become a barrier to adjusting to life in his new Idaho town. His school’s mascot is the Spud, and after a series of misfortunes, Ben is enlisted to don the potato costume and cheer on his school’s team. Ben balances his duties as a life-sized potato against his desperate desire to hide the fact that he’s the dork in the suit. After all, his cute new crush, Jayla, wouldn’t be too impressed to discover Ben’s secret. The ensuing novel is a fairly boilerplate middle–grade narrative: snarky tween protagonist, the crush that isn’t quite what she seems, and a pair of best friends that have more going on than our hero initially believes. The author keeps the novel moving quickly, pushing forward with witty asides and narrative momentum so fast that readers won’t really mind that the plot’s spine is one they’ve encountered many times before. Once finished, readers will feel little resonance and move on to the next book in their to-read piles, but in the moment the novel is pleasant enough. Ben, Jayla, and Ben’s friend Hunter are white while Ellie, Ben’s other good pal, is Latina.
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11866-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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