by Nancy Viau ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2008
Girl readers who are regretfully leaving the Amber Brown series or are about to graduate from the school of Junie B. Jones might be happy to meet Sam Hansen, fourth grader and rock enthusiast. Sam shares many qualities with Junie B.—the obligatory spunk, a chattily ingenuous voice—but her passion for science distinguishes her from other franchise heroines. Supporting characters are typical: an odd, greeting-card–writing widowed mother, a clichéd, text-messaging older sister and a best friend who lives next door. This rather plotless first effort gains some traction well past the middle, when the all-female family vacations at that geologist’s paradise, the Grand Canyon. Sam is a likable character, but the narrative is not particularly nuanced or humorous; moreover, her anger-management issue is overdone and eventually grows tiresome. But for those young readers who are not quite ready for Ramona and long for more Junie B., this might be the prescription for transition. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8109-7299-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2008
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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Niña Mata ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 27, 2021
The second installment in this spirited series is a hit.
A new baby coming means Ryan has lots of opportunities to grow love.
Ryan has so much to look forward to this summer—she is going to be a big sister, and she finally gets to go to church camp! But new adventures bring challenges, too. Ryan feels like the baby is taking forever to arrive, and with Mom on bed rest, she isn’t able to participate in the family’s typical summer activities. Ryan’s Dad is still working the late shift, which means he gets home and goes to bed when she and her older brother, Ray, are waking up, so their quality daddy-daughter time is limited to one day a week. When the time for camp finally arrives, Ryan is so worried about bugs, ghosts, and sharing a cabin that she wonders if she should go at all. Watson’s heroine is smart and courageous, bringing her optimistic attitude to any challenge she faces. Hard topics like family finances and complex relationships with friends are discussed in an age-appropriate way. Watson continues to excel at crafting a sense of place; she transports readers to Portland, Oregon, with an attention to detail that can only come from someone who has loved that city. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and occasional illustrations by Mata spotlight their joy and make this book shine.
The second installment in this spirited series is a hit. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0058-8
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Andrew Grey
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Niña Mata
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by Seymour Simon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2003
Simon tackles his latest natural disaster in trademark but not very modern style. Information on hurricanes is clearly presented but poorly organized, and lacks any sense of drama or story. Aimed at the same age group as Dorothy Souza’s Hurricanes (1996) and Patricia Lauber’s Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms, this falls short of both, often going into too much pedantic detail—the wind speeds of tropical depressions versus tropical storms—while failing to put needed perspective on some of the more eye-popping statistics. A hurricane can move more than a million cubic miles of atmosphere per second—but the naked numbers are essentially meaningless to students who think of millions in terms of ballplayers’ salaries and can’t imagine cubic miles at all. Photos of smashed houses and boats in front yards add excitement, but others—plain clouds?—detract; some are very grainy when blown up to the requisite full page. Formulaic and a numbing read-aloud. (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-688-16291-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2003
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