Lynnhurst School Principal Mr. Tanen is happy to be the first one back from winter break. He’s also happy to see the rooms are painted and the heat and the refrigerator have been fixed. A call from the school department interrupts Mr. Tanen’s morning ritual of choosing a tie from his ample supply. The winter repairs drained the budget and there’s no money for the promised playground repairs. Mr. Tanen is distraught. The students worked hard all Fall to earn their part of the money. Then he hits on an idea. He auctions his beloved ties to raise the money. Everyone in town buys one, and the playground project is saved. The ribbon-cutting on the new playground is actually a tie-untying as the whole town returns the ties to the man who made them famous. Cocca-Leffler’s snappy and smiling watercolor-and-chalk illustrations bring Mr. Tanen and the denizens of Lynnhurst to life. Younger readers might not grasp the budgetary plot points, and a few older readers might find Mr. T’s altruism hard to believe. However, the twice-stated message “the more you give, the more you get” is a lesson every elementary student should take to heart. Fans of Mr. Tanen’s first tale (Mr. Tanen’s Ties, 1999) will not be disappointed at this welcome return. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-8075-5305-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2003
Joey King is as ready as any kid on the block to get to class and learn to read; in fact, that's the main reason he's willing to attend school. Everything points to a good year: nice teacher, new backpack, an older brother to take him back and forth. Of course, there are problems, too, when a substitute takes over and when Ronald, a large boy repeating first grade, bullies Joey with royal variations on his last name. Meanwhile, the generally ebullient narrative is interrupted five times by clumsily realistic drawings of stiffly posed figures—so few illustrations as to seem almost pointless, and readers who are sufficiently proficient may be too old to find the triumphs of a first grader interesting. Still, a pleasant tale, with small, well-realized aspirations. As for Joey—he's an indomitable little guy whose enthusiasms and fears are totally on the mark. (Fiction. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 23, 1992
ISBN: 0-395-58583-X
Page Count: 116
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The middle-child narrator has an ordinary enough family until it comes to aunts, of whom there are simply too many, each with some disconcerting trait: one kisses too much, another eats huge amounts; Aunt Zara makes not only her own odd garments but things for her reluctant nieces; there's even one aunt with all the appearance of being a witch. Thomson's wry, succinct text combines nicely with Clark's ebulliently expressive pictures for an amusing survey of idiosyncracies that children find inconvenient or embarrassing. Only the ingenuous greed of the conclusion seems a touch unimaginative: ``You can't have too many aunts at Christmas!'' Still, there's enough lighthearted merriment here (along with the social satire) to make this a worthwhile purchase. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 31, 1992
ISBN: 0-689-50538-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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