Carlson’s (Hooray for Grandparents’ Day!, 2000, etc.) first-person narrator is lucky: she has a best friend. She is also devastated: her best friend has moved away. Readers see her desolation in the boldly colored illustrations of subsequent pages. Her yellow dog accompanies her upstairs as she totes a photo album to her room, dejection in even the dog’s paw. The images anchored in the album date from babyhood; the living memories of starting kindergarten together, hanging out in their tree fort, exploring galaxies in a cardboard box, and playing soccer are bubble-framed dreamscapes. Life ahead promises only boredom. There are memories of fights, but those are balanced by making up. Misery needing space, our heroine leaves her room to sit on her front step, there to relive other good memories as the new neighbor’s moving van is unloaded. Who will she tell she’s sorry? Or share things with? Except the new family has a dog and toys “and someone who looks my age!” The new girl also knows what to do with a soccer ball. (Our heroine is sufficiently savvy to know that her old best friend will make new friends, too.) An expressive tribute to the pain of farewells—and the joys of hellos bolstered and enriched by good memories—this is sure to empower not only kids who move away, but also those who stay behind. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-670-89498-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2001
One of the watershed moments in African-American history—the defeat of James Braddock at the hands of Joe Louis—is here given an earnest picture-book treatment. Despite his lack of athletic ability, Sammy wants desperately to be a great boxer, like his hero, getting boxing lessons from his friend Ernie in exchange for help with schoolwork. However hard he tries, though, Sammy just can’t box, and his father comforts him, reminding him that he doesn’t need to box: Joe Louis has shown him that he “can be the champion at anything [he] want[s].” The high point of this offering is the big fight itself, everyone crowded around the radio in Mister Jake’s general store, the imagined fight scenes played out in soft-edged sepia frames. The main story, however, is so bent on providing Sammy and the reader with object lessons that all subtlety is lost, as Mister Jake, Sammy’s father, and even Ernie hammer home the message. Both text and oil-on-canvas-paper illustrations go for the obvious angle, making the effort as a whole worthy, but just a little too heavy-handed. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-58430-161-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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