There are some bright spots, including a satisfying ending that's not too neat, but this is too long, and too clearly...
What's an 8-year-old with a working single mother and an energetic dog to do when her puppy's high energy (the "zoomies") threatens to try their landlady's patience?
The premise is appealing: Third-grader Latasha must give her dog (Ella, named after Ella Fitzgerald) some exercise, but she is too young to go the park by herself. Often, she's cared for by Mrs. Okocho, the landlady, who is from Nigeria and who isn't particularly fond of dogs—especially those that take an unhealthy interest in her garden, as Ella does. Latasha must use some creative problem-solving skills to put up with babysitting from Mrs. Okocho and to care adequately for Ella, eventually resulting in a near-fatal accident for the puppy. Unfortunately, this debut is marred by some awkward writing, including dialogue that seems more adult than third-grader, presumably in order to get across some admittedly worthy lessons: "But telling fibs is wrong and definitely not a mature thing to do. It can be really hard to make the right choice sometimes!" The length and vocabulary seem suited for preteens, making it a mismatch with an 8-year-old protagonist.
There are some bright spots, including a satisfying ending that's not too neat, but this is too long, and too clearly written with a grown-up's sensibility to have as much kid appeal as it could have had. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-9837243-0-8
Page Count: 141
Publisher: Midlandia Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
Another child-friendly nature book from the team that offered Animals in Motion (2000), this one has added bite. With no graphic violence, but a deliciously close attention to toothy detail, Stephens paints oversized, in-your-face views of a gaping crocodile, a python swallowing an entire deer, a lamprey's stuff-of-nightmare mouth, and other creature features that will rivet browsers—of the human sort, anyway. Hickman contributes notes and diagrams on the various kinds of teeth, jaws, beaks, tongues, and baleen sported by herbivores, carnivores, and carrion-eaters, adding a look at diverse strategies for taking in nourishment and water. Directions for low-tech demonstrations will help children understand food webs, how a frog's tongue works, a housefly's decidedly icky eating habits and like topics. Seasoned with well-chosen examples and scientific terms, this clear, non-technical study will afford plenty of food for thought—though the lack of a book or Web site list will give readers hoping for leads to further information a bone to pick with the author. (index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-55074-577-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2001
You could cut the preciousness with a knife. Next up: Toothiana, Queen of the Tooth Fairy armies.
A long-eared guardian with a corps of fierce, chocolate warriors helps to rescue the kidnapped children of Santoff Claussen village in this sequel to Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King (2011).
When Pitch, the Nightmare King, sweeps all of the village’s children away to his lair at the Earth’s center, Cossack/mage Nicholas and his intrepid sidekick Katherine hie off to (where else?) Easter Island. There they solicit aid in their recovery from Bunnymund, last of the ageless Pookan Brotherhood and keeper of the second of the five Relics that must be gathered to ensure Pitch’s final defeat. Standing tall in designer shades and richly patterned robes, the “very egg-centric” but powerful lagomorph (inventor of Spring, jokes, chocolate and Australia) hops to. This sets the stage for a rousing subterranean dustup and, for Pitch, another hasty escape. As in the previous episode, Joyce mines common European cultural motifs and lays clever twists and resonances on the result, for a tale as stylized and baroque as the occasional illustrations.
You could cut the preciousness with a knife. Next up: Toothiana, Queen of the Tooth Fairy armies. (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-3050-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
