by Once Upon a Dance ; illustrated by Emilia Rumińska ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 25, 2022
An engaging ballet tale with a solid anti-bullying message.
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A magical tree helps a young dancer deal with bullies in this 13th installment of a picture-book series.
Andi loves dancing, but school’s a different thing. Even with a squirrel friend to keep the White child company, Andi can’t help counting the minutes until school is over. On the way to school is a beautiful tree that Andi names Gloriana. When the kid hears a voice near Gloriana that seems to say “Dance for me,” Andi decides to give it a try. After the tree responds to Andi’s dances with movements of its own, the youngster is amazed. The dancing continues to go well, but the bullies at Andi’s school only get worse when they realize the child is friends with a tree. After suggesting Andi make the tree their valentine, the bullies wander off. But Gloriana hears them, and she’s determined to win over the children without fighting. As in previous books in this series from Once Upon a Dance, each page advances the story while featuring instructions from White ballerina Konora (her stage name) on how to imitate the movements in the tale as well as perform various techniques. Because Andi practices ballet, the moves here are frequently ballet techniques, listed in French, and are best suited for use in a classroom with older kids. Ruminska’s depictions of Andi and their diverse classmates have soft, painterly outlines, and the illustrations with the tree in full bloom are particularly lovely.
An engaging ballet tale with a solid anti-bullying message.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-955555-34-0
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Once Upon A Dance
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Suzy Kline ; illustrated by Amy Wummer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 27, 2018
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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by Shelley Johannes ; illustrated by Shelley Johannes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 19, 2017
A kind child in a book for middle-grade readers? There’s no downside to that.
Beatrice Zinker is a kinder, gentler Judy Moody.
Beatrice doesn’t want to be fit in a box. Her first word was “WOW,” not “Mom.” She does her best thinking upside down and prefers to dress like a ninja. Like Judy Moody, she has patient parents and a somewhat annoying younger brother. (She also has a perfectly ordinary older sister.) Beatrice spends all summer planning a top-secret spy operation complete with secret codes and a secret language (pig Latin). But on the first day of third grade, her best friend, Lenny (short for Eleanor), shows up in a dress, with a new friend who wants to play veterinarian at recess. Beatrice, essentially a kind if somewhat quirky kid, struggles to see the upside of the situation and ends up with two friends instead of one. Line drawings on almost every spread add to the humor and make the book accessible to readers who might otherwise balk at its 160 pages. Thankfully, the rhymes in the text do not continue past the first chapter. Children will enjoy the frequent puns and Beatrice’s preference for climbing trees and hanging upside down. The story drifts dangerously close to pedantry when Beatrice asks for advice from a grandmotherly neighbor but is saved by likable characters and upside-down cake. Beatrice seems to be white; Lenny’s surname, Santos, suggests that she may be Latina; their school is a diverse one.
A kind child in a book for middle-grade readers? There’s no downside to that. (Fiction. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-6738-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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