by Marylin Sachs & illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2001
Lily, a ten-year-old latchkey kid, depends upon the kindness of her neighbors on the third floor of her apartment building whenever she forgets her key. She usually avoids Apartment 3D because Mr. Freeman is mean, nasty, and argumentative. In addition, his four ugly cats yowl ceaselessly. But one day she discovers that underneath the grouchy exterior is a kind man who takes in stray cats and shares his meager existence with them. When Mr. Freeman dies, Lily negotiates an agreement with the landlord to give her time to find homes for the animals before he calls the ASPCA. In doing so, she discovers that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, as she finds just the right homes for three of them. The fourth is allowed to maintain his independence, with a little help from Lily, in the form of an occasional bowl of food on the fire escape. Sachs constructs a slight plot, without side issues. Whatever deeper meanings might be discovered are left undeveloped. And that’s all right. A more mature reader might see that Mr. Freeman’s nearly empty refrigerator is indicative of poverty, and that the “witchy woman” seems to want one particular cat only because it might be valuable. But the work also appeals as a straightforward story, told in the first person by an engaging child who recognizes and responds to kindness. The text does not crowd the page and is liberally illustrated with simple, child-like black line drawings by Litzinger, who is given credit only in the copyright information. A sweet read. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-84581-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Richard Jackson/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2002
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by Suzy Kline ; illustrated by Amy Wummer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 27, 2018
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
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by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Rob Shepperson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2016
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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