This book is a good selection for those ready for the next step beyond early readers and will undoubtedly create more...
A perceptive dog rescues a family in crisis with sheer cleverness and humor.
“McTavish’s decision to adopt the Peachey family was not the most sensible decision of his life.” So begins the adventure of a sandy-colored terrier who arrives unbidden, like Mary Poppins, in this domestic satire. Having “decided to give up being a mother,” Ma Peachey is boycotting her household responsibilities, leaving Pa Peachey cranky, Ava (14) gloomy, and Ollie (12) petulant. Only 8-year-old Betty is wise enough to see their dire straits. Who will do the cooking and the cleaning and get everyone to school on time? McTavish sees the youngest one’s sensible nature and works with her, without magic or fantasy, to bring the family back from the brink even as Ma Peachey indulges her yoga habit while the household falls to pieces. If the essential ridiculousness can be overlooked, this is a sweetly humorous story about training a family to behave. Readers will enjoy seeing the role reversal of the dog adopting a family, and they might gain some psychological awareness of others. Easton’s grayscale illustrations in her debut offer a gentle counterpoint, depicting the round-shouldered members of the Peachey family with light skin and straight, dark hair.
This book is a good selection for those ready for the next step beyond early readers and will undoubtedly create more children wanting a great dog to join the family. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: April 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0058-4
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair.
Fifth graders get into a hairy situation.
After an unnamed narrator’s full-page warning, readers dive right into a Wolver Hollow classroom. Mr. Noffler recounts the town legend about how, every Oct. 19, residents don fake mustaches and lock their doors. As the story goes, the late Bockius Beauregard was vaporized in an “unfortunate black powder incident,” but, somehow, his “magnificent mustache” survived to haunt the town. Once a year, the spectral ’stache searches for an exposed upper lip to rest upon. Is it real or superstition? Students Parker and Lucas—sole members of the Midnight Owl Detective Agency—decide to take the case and solve the mustache mystery. When they find that the book of legends they need for their research has been checked out from the library, they recruit the borrower: goth classmate Samantha von Oppelstein. Will the three of them be enough to take on the mustache and resolve its ghostly, unfinished business? Whether through ridiculous plot points or over-the-top descriptions, the comedy keeps coming in this first title in McGee’s new Night Frights series. A generous font and spacing make this quick-paced, 13-chapter story appealing to newly confident readers. Skaffa’s grayscale cartoon spot (and occasional full-page) illustrations help set the tone and accentuate the action. Though neither race or skin color is described in the text, images show Lucas and Samantha as light-skinned and Parker as dark-skinned.
Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair. (maps) (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8089-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
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