by Matthew Swanson ; illustrated by Robbi Behr ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2017
An exceptional middle-grade read packed with giggles for young sleuths who love to explore a little off the beaten path.
Fourth-grader Moxie McCoy must solve the crime of the century when the school mascot goes missing.
She’s aptly named, but the spunky white girl prefers to go by Slim while she’s on a case. When the stuffed owl mascot, Eddie, is taken from a display case, the entire school is in an uproar. Moxie, whose entomologist mother has named an insect after her, takes it upon herself to find the culprit. Like any good detective with “high standards and excellent taste,” she narrows down her suspects by process of elimination. Trouble is, Moxie is a tad impulsive and has a tendency to jump to conclusions. With some behind-the-scenes help from her little brother, Milton, and a lot of patience from the school principal, illustrated as a black woman, Moxie comes to examine what she did right and where she might need improvement. More Pippi Longstocking than Nancy Drew with her sassy gumption, unflappable enthusiasm, and wild imagination, Moxie has a flair for the frequent offbeat declaration: “I am fairly certain that a dilemma is a kind of ferocious desert animal. I am surprised that Principal Jones thinks I might have one.” Each page is ebulliently decorated with hurly-burly fonts and rambunctious graphics. Questions to readers in the form of an “official debrief” prompt critical thinking about Moxie’s narrative.
An exceptional middle-grade read packed with giggles for young sleuths who love to explore a little off the beaten path. (glossary) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09852-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Imprint
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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by Christina Li
by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Mónica Armiño ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2019
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey.
Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Kirbi Fagan
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by Rosanne Parry illustrated by Lindsay Moore
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