Jackson Magnet School is having a talent show and Howardina Geraldina Paulina Maxina Gardenia Smith is determined to be the star. Howie, Pa Lia, and Calliope have been practicing and planning for the talent show for weeks. Pa Lia is going to play the thaj chij, a traditional Hmong instrument; Calliope is going to perform tricks with her dog, Woof; and Howie is all set to sing. Everything is going as planned: Howie’s new, shiny dress is almost ready; her bow is perfected; and she is especially excited about the party. Unfortunately, just as she gets ready to sing at the final rehearsal, she freezes. No words come out of her mouth; she begins feeling cold and clammy, and her feet refuse to move. Howie seriously begins to doubt whether she will be able to perform in front of everyone at the talent show, especially when TV cameras will be there to capture the big event. Luckily, Howie finds some strength and wisdom within herself to follow through with her dream. Simple line and shade illustrations rendered in ink and gouache break up the text on nearly every page, making this a perfect chapter book for beginning readers. An author’s note detailing more strategies for overcoming stage fright follows the text. (Easy reader. 6-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-15-216403-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2002
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
Keena Ford’s second-grade class is taking a field trip to the United States Capitol. This good-hearted girl works hard to behave, but her impulsive decisions have a way of backfiring, no matter how hard she tries to do the right thing. In this second book in a series, Keena cuts off one of her braids and later causes a congressman to fall down the stairs. The first-person journal format is a stretch—most second graders can barely write, let alone tell every detail of three days of her life. Children will wonder how Keena can cut one of her “two thick braids” all the way off by pretend-snipping in the air. They will be further confused because the cover art clearly shows Keena with a completely different hairdo on the field trip than the one described. Though a strong African-American heroine is most welcome in chapter books and Keena and her family are likable and realistic, this series needs more polish before Keena writes about her next month in school. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3264-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2009
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