A marvelously well-developed fantasy.
Stevie Clipper and her dad are fidders, tiny creatures living among and helping humans, who are unaware of their existence.
Fidders look like people, and have their own tiny homes, schools, and shops, nestled unseen within human communities. They follow intricate rules; most importantly, only trained fidders may communicate with humans. Dad isn’t a fan of rules and regulations, and Stevie often helps him out with his assignments, earning him reprimands. Now on his final warning, Dad must redeem himself by taking on a challenging Minute Minder case involving Sandra May Bee, a girl who’s struggling to adjust to life in a new city with her aunt after her family faces financial difficulties. Stevie helps engineer a friendship for Sandra May with Charlie Tobin; coincidentally, Dad is given an Art Department assignment to help Charlie write a poem. Stevie even dares to communicate with Sandra May, under the guise of being her imaginary friend. Stevie speaks directly to readers, employing wonderfully descriptive language about her life and the many unusual characters she encounters—and she occasionally even shares a “Vitally Important Point.” In Irish picture-book author/illustrator Murphy’s debut novel, Stevie is a sympathetic protagonist who will win readers over. Many (sometimes hilarious) twists and turns lead to the surprising conclusion, and the soft black-and-white artwork adds to the story’s charm. In this racially diverse world, Stevie, her dad, and Sandra May have dark skin, and Charlie appears white.
A marvelously well-developed fantasy. (Fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781782694229
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Pushkin Children’s Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
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
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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