Downing (Daphne's Song) has written a sensitive, moving story that focuses on a family in crisis. When Dad loses his job at the steel mill, 12-year-old Kathleen, her mother, and her three younger sisters must leave their Baltimore home and move to the Chesapeake Bay community of Bay View to live with Uncle Charlie, Aunt Doris, and spoiled 14-year-old Fay. Looking after the younger girls is a job that falls to skinny, brainy, "sensible" Kathleen, who does her best but never seems able to please her tired, tense Mom or the rest of the adults. Kathleen, her 10-yea-old sister Patsy, and Fay are sworn enemies; nevertheless, the sisters discover that Fay has a secret—Joe, 20-year-old sailor-boyfriend who thinks Fay's 18. All the sisters eventually meet Joe at the beach. He's likable and fun and seems to take a brotherly interest in Kathleen, who develops a crush on him. At a local carnival, Patsy tattles about Fay's real age to Joe, and Fay is grounded when her parents see them together. Kathleen feels sorry for her cousin, and the two become more or less friends, to Patsy's chargin. Kathleen's relationship with her mother is on shakier ground, however, especially after she learns that Mom is pregnant again. She finally confronts her mother in an uncharacteristic explosion of temper, which serves to clear the air and to reestablish their loving, confiding relationship. Dad takes a job at Uncle Charlie's gas station, which means the family will be together, albeit in Bay View, not in Baltimore. Downing has drawn an evocative portrait of the struggling American family of our times. Readers who come from similar backgrounds will find it easy to identify with them.
Pub Date: Oct. 21, 1985
ISBN: 0380716356
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1985
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
