Two cute animals teaming up means double the fun in this romping adventure.
An unlikely animal friendship blooms when lost youngsters help each other out.
Oliver—Ollie to his buddies—is a curious sea otter who loves swimming and frolicking in the waters near Washington state’s Puget Sound. Teased by his playmates for being too cautious, Ollie takes a big risk that ends in disaster when he is separated from his mom during an oil spill. Dachshund puppy Franklin is similarly curious; he runs away from his owner, Lucy, when a squirrel catches his eye. Lucy is desperate to find Franklin but is torn between helping her mom, who works at a marine lab, with the oil spill cleanup efforts and searching for her beloved dog. Meanwhile, Lucy’s mom and older brother have had a falling out, and Lucy is anxious for them to forgive one another and for her family to heal. Ollie and Franklin meet on the beach and begin the adventure of a lifetime as they team up to find their ways back home. Readers will delight in the otter and puppy antics that unfold. Information about otter behavior and abilities is woven into the storyline along with descriptions of the environmental impact of oil spills. Chapters alternate between Lucy’s, Franklin’s, and Ollie’s perspectives, keeping the story moving forward at a fast clip. Lucy and her family are presumed White.
Two cute animals teaming up means double the fun in this romping adventure. (Adventure. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-74149-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A gentle paean to friendship most suitable for that perfect friend.
A heartfelt “thank you” to a special friend.
Speaking in the first person and addressing an unidentified friend as “you,” the author begins this little tribute by expressing appreciation for all the friend is and does. Assuring the friend that “where you are, things are brighter,” the author adds, “you’re a gem, you’re a peach, you’re a wonderful friend.” Admitting it’s hard to find the right words (even in a “giant…dictionary”), the author asserts the friend is “gooder than good” and “kinder than kind,” and there’s just no way to describe the friend’s inner light and spirit. Indeed, knowing this friend is part of the author’s life “makes even the rainy days feel more alright.” Present on all the author’s “brightest days,” the friend has clearly made “more than a little” difference in the author’s life. The rhyming text adds quiet cadence to this somewhat abstract ode to friendship while precise, small-scale illustrations, rendered in pale tans and greens, provide a visual context featuring a fox and a squirrel wearing old-fashioned shirts and knickers. Each page turn reveals the two friends together: kite-flying, picnicking, gathering honey, fishing, catching fireflies, drinking tea, sheltering under a toadstool, dancing, hopping across lily pads, cycling, swinging, star-gazing, sleeping in hammocks, and sharing all their brightest days surrounded by delicate botanicals.
A gentle paean to friendship most suitable for that perfect friend. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: June 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-970147-44-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
The lovable Díaz family has yet to disappoint.
Fourth grade is not for the faint of heart.
In Book 3 of the Stella Díaz series, Dominguez’s Ramona Quimby–esque heroine of Salvadoran and Mexican descent finds herself a tad overextended as she joins an art club, attempts to fulfill her presidential duties at the helm of the ocean-saving Sea Musketeers, and takes swim lessons with best friend Jenny. As if that weren’t enough, her mom is spending a suspicious amount of time with new neighbor Diego, and Stella is not sure how she feels about her mom having a maybe-boyfriend. Stella’s worry and exhaustion are palpable, but her enthusiasm for all of her hobbies is endearingly earnest. Middle-grade readers will get a taste of what’s to come when Stella and her older brother, Nick, compare extracurriculars as he begins to imagine applying to college. As with previous volumes, occasional Spanish words are presented in italics (a decision explained in the author’s note); they are typically accompanied by context clues or in-text translations, narrator Stella confiding to readers that she needs to work on her Spanish. Her overall vocabulary is robust, however, and she easily weaves in words such as guffaw, devious, and deduction that bolster her go-getter characterization. The Chicago setting and its vigorous Latinx community are well realized. The novel can easily be enjoyed without familiarity with previous books, and Dominguez’s black-and-white illustrations give transitioning readers’ eyes places to rest.
The lovable Díaz family has yet to disappoint. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-76308-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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