A fun, action-packed romp with a lesson about living out God’s messages folded in.
An early chapter book full of humor and adventures centered on Christian life.
In this fifth entry in the Dead Sea Squirrels series, ancient talking squirrels Merle and Pearl, who were salted and preserved in a cave for centuries, have now found a home with 10-year-old Michael Gomez and his family. After establishing a life in the 21st century, Merle and Pearl come to realize they can get into as many adventures and difficult situations now as they did in the past. This book features run-ins with other local squirrels and Michael’s family cat as well as trouble at Michael’s school when Merle squirms his way out of Michael’s backpack. Whenever Merle and Pearl find themselves in a pickle, Pearl refers to God’s blessings and reminds Merle of God’s teachings. Even as they laugh at the squirrels’ shenanigans, readers will absorb the lessons to be kind and forgiving to family, friends, and even enemies, following God’s will. The illustrations are appropriately humorous (one of Pearl in a bathrobe and bunny slippers, holding a cup of tea, is particularly funny), and they depict an interracial Gomez family; Michael, his dad, and his sister have somewhat darker skin than does Michael’s mother. A cliffhanger whets readers’ appetites for the next book, Whirly Squirrelies, which publishes simultaneously.
A fun, action-packed romp with a lesson about living out God’s messages folded in. (Fantasy. 6-9)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4964-3514-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Tyndale Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Children will appreciate the sweet reassurance on display here.
Experienced camper and older sister Sadie helps younger brother Ori get ready for his first year at sleep-away camp.
Sadie loves summer camp, a place where she feels at home with her Jewish friends, acting in plays, playing sports, singing around the campfire and enjoying ice cream sundaes. Seven-year-old Ori will attend this year and, while packing, becomes concerned about taking Nuggles, the favorite stuffed animal he has slept with since birth. Though Sadie assures him that bringing Nuggles will be OK, Ori worries that “the kids will think I’m a baby.” After a trial night at home without Nuggles, Ori cannot sleep and decides to pack the stuffed zebra. Trepidation turns to a welcome surprise when he arrives at camp and sees his bunkmates, each cuddling or sitting with his own beloved “stuffy.” Korngold’s talent for taking stressful childhood moments and developing them into simple yet satisfying storylines continues to be in evidence in this fifth installment of her Sadie and Ori series. Though briefly alluding to the Jewish camping experience through one double-page spread highlighting a Shabbat candle lighting and the occasional yarmulke, this should serve most new and first-time campers well in providing a positive response to the anxiety that inevitably accompanies excitement at leaving home. Gentle, loosely defined paintings depict a middle-class home and woodsy camp.
Children will appreciate the sweet reassurance on display here. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4677-0424-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A readable, pleasant story for patient listeners.
In this picture-book adaptation of an old Swedish story, Mary befriends the donkey that becomes her transportation from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
Mary first meets the little donkey at the town water well, and she is kind to the animal even though he is considered lazy and dirty. By coincidence, Mary’s husband, Joseph, buys that very donkey for Mary as it is the only one he can afford. Mary grooms the donkey and has Joseph make a new harness for him, and the donkey is transformed into a useful beast of burden. He carries Mary to Bethlehem on their difficult journey to be counted, and they are helped along the way by angels that appear at critical moments to guide them. When Mary’s child is born, the donkey is there to watch over the family when they sleep. This long-for-the-format story depicts Mary as a kind, cheerful woman who takes everything in stride, charming the donkey, a flock of birds, and even robbers encountered on the journey. Soft-focus illustrations in muted colors provide interesting details of the journey, with particularly appealing animal characters. Mary and Joseph and the shepherds all have olive skin and black hair. There is no author’s note to explain the origins of the story, only a back-cover note that the story is a classic chapter book for children in Sweden.
A readable, pleasant story for patient listeners. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-178250-294-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Floris
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
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