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WAR GAME

Name: WAR GAME
Author: Michael Foreman
ISBN: 1-55970-069-X

by Michael Foreman & illustrated by Michael Foreman ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 1994

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In the same format as Foreman's fine book about his early childhood on the British home front during WW II (War Boy, 1990), this fictionalized depiction of WW I (1993 Smarties Book Prize winner) is also based on family history: The four uncles whose experiences Foreman portrays here all died in the war. First seen playing a carefree game of soccer, they enlist during 1914's patriotic fervor, vividly recalled in guilt-inducing slogans on recruitment posters. In a narrative that derives considerable irony from its very simplicity, Foreman follows the four boys through the euphoria of training to the grim life in the trenches and a Christmas cease-fire, when German and English soldiers ``agreed that they should take the opportunity to bury the dead'' with a ``joint burial service,'' exchanged gifts, and played ball. Foreman's splendid watercolors—more impressionistic than those in War Boy—vividly convey the scene while also evoking the sensations of life in the trenches. Though the bloodshed is muted in the illustrations, Foreman's conclusion underscores the tragedy: As carnage resumes after the generals extinguish the flicker of peace, a poignant series of spreads portrays the death, in a quiet fall of snow, of the first of the four—Will, 18. A thoughtful and beautifully wrought book, powerful in its understatement. (Picture book. 8+)

Pub Date: April 7, 1994

ISBN: 1-55970-069-X

Page Count: 72

Publisher: Arcade

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1994

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE MO AND THE GREAT SNOW MONSTER
by Michael Foreman ; illustrated by Michael Foreman

- BOOK REVIEW
STUBBY
by Michael Foreman ; illustrated by Michael Foreman

- BOOK REVIEW
A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES
by Robert Louis Stevenson ; illustrated by Michael Foreman

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DONAVAN'S WORD JAR

by Monalisa DeGross & illustrated by Cheryl Hanna ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 30, 1994

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Donavan's friends collect buttons and marbles, but he collects words. ``NUTRITION,'' ``BALLYHOO,'' ``ABRACADABRA''—these and other words are safely stored on slips of paper in a jar. As it fills, Donavan sees a storage problem developing and, after soliciting advice from his teacher and family, solves it himself: Visiting his grandma at a senior citizens' apartment house, he settles a tenants' argument by pulling the word ``COMPROMISE'' from his jar and, feeling ``as if the sun had come out inside him,'' discovers the satisfaction of giving his words away. Appealingly detailed b&w illustrations depict Donavan and his grandma as African-Americans. This Baltimore librarian's first book is sure to whet readers' appetites for words, and may even start them on their own savory collections. (Fiction. 8-11)

Pub Date: June 30, 1994

ISBN: 0-06-020190-8

Page Count: 72

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1994

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
DONAVAN’S DOUBLE TROUBLE
by Monalisa DeGross & illustrated by Amy Bates

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FRINDLE

by Andrew Clements & illustrated by Brian Selznick ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1996

With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating...

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Nicholas is a bright boy who likes to make trouble at school, creatively.

When he decides to torment his fifth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Granger (who is just as smart as he is), by getting everyone in the class to replace the word "pen'' with "frindle,'' he unleashes a series of events that rapidly spins out of control. If there's any justice in the world, Clements (Temple Cat, 1995, etc.) may have something of a classic on his hands. By turns amusing and adroit, this first novel is also utterly satisfying. The chess-like sparring between the gifted Nicholas and his crafty teacher is enthralling, while Mrs. Granger is that rarest of the breed: a teacher the children fear and complain about for the school year, and love and respect forever after.

With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating tale—one to press upon children, and one they'll be passing among themselves. (Fiction. 8-12)