Prolific Sachs is adept at depicting the tribulations of younger teens as both poignant and comic, Imogene should interest readers both by her individuality and by her universal experiences. Imo is the only child of two quintessentially improvident parents. Dad's a photographer who rarely sells a print; Mom's a perpetual student. With the help of royalties from a successful cookbook written by a deceased relative, Imo keeps the family going in spite of their charming insouciance. Meanwhile, she tries to comfort herself for the fact that her boyfriend broke up with her just before she could break up with him, by having a crush on the new tenant upstairs, handsome Adam Derman. Baby-sitting for his son, she has ample opportunities to observe the parade of pretty, empty-headed women in his life, but fails to notice that his notions are both sexist and rigid. Friend Melissa tries to match Imo with Leo, but just as Imo decides to give him a try, Melissa snags him herself. Still, there's hope that love will bloom with the nice boy Imo has met at the allergist's office. It isn't so much what happens in a Sachs book—it's the way her characters bubble into life as one effervescent, sharply observed incident follows another. A fine alternative to mass-produced romances.
Pub Date: April 1, 1987
ISBN: 0380703572
Page Count: 148
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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