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WAR GAME

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

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HOW TÍA LOLA CAME TO (VISIT) STAY

From the Tía Lola Stories series , Vol. 1

Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.

Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán. 

When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.

Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)

Pub Date: March 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-375-80215-0

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001

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JAKE THE FAKE KEEPS IT REAL

From the Jake the Fake series , Vol. 1

A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid.

Black sixth-grader Jake Liston can only play one song on the piano. He can’t read music very well, and he can’t improvise. So how did Jake get accepted to the Music and Art Academy? He faked it.

Alongside an eclectic group of academy classmates, and with advice from his best friend, Jake tries to fit in at a school where things like garbage sculpting and writing art reviews of bird poop splatter are the norm. All is well until Jake discovers that the end-of-the-semester talent show is only two weeks away, and Jake is short one very important thing…talent. Or is he? It’s up to Jake to either find the talent that lies within or embarrass himself in front of the entire school. Light and humorous, with Knight’s illustrations adding to the fun, Jake’s story will likely appeal to many middle-grade readers, especially those who might otherwise be reluctant to pick up a book. While the artsy antics may be over-the-top at times, this is a story about something that most preteens can relate to: the struggle to find your authentic self. And in a world filled with books about wanting to fit in with the athletically gifted supercliques, this novel unabashedly celebrates the artsy crowd in all of its quirky, creative glory.

A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid. (Fiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: March 28, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-553-52351-5

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016

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