Bugs and boys sound twin themes in this unvarnished debut. Amidst pranks, horselaughs, and who-likes-whom conversations, Megan scours her Houston neighborhood for the 25 different insects she needs for a sixth-grade biology assignment. Infuriatingly, after her bug-loving little brother Alexander sends her back to square one by reverently burying the specimens she’s managed to gather, obnoxious classmate Charlie dubs her “Beggin’ Megan” and subjects her to a series of buggy puns and practical jokes. Though Megan makes a few wrong turns, such as sneaking into the lunchroom kitchen after hours (only to discover that it’s not infested, despite the usual rumors about school food), in general she sticks to the straight and narrow, mending fences with Alexander, and even using the newfound insight that Charlie is mortally afraid of insects constructively—helping him with the assignment rather than torpedoing his standing with the other lads by blabbing. A friendship is born. Zollman has a tendency to spell out lessons and characters’ feelings rather than let readers pick them up from context, but Megan, despite her temper, is more of a peacemaker than a soldier in the gender wars, and bugs are always a surefire grossout motif in preteen fiction. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: June 15, 2001
ISBN: 0-8234-1584-8
Page Count: 134
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2001
Reports of children requesting rewrites of The Reluctant Dragon are rare at best, but this new version may be pleasing to young or adult readers less attuned to the pleasures of literary period pieces. Along with modernizing the language—“Hmf! This Beowulf fellow had a severe anger management problem”—DiTerlizzi dials down the original’s violence. The red-blooded Boy is transformed into a pacifistic bunny named Kenny, St. George is just George the badger, a retired knight who owns a bookstore, and there is no actual spearing (or, for that matter, references to the annoyed knight’s “Oriental language”) in the climactic show-fight with the friendly, crème-brulée-loving dragon Grahame. In look and spirit, the author’s finely detailed drawings of animals in human dress are more in the style of Lynn Munsinger than, for instance, Ernest Shepard or Michael Hague. They do, however, nicely reflect the bright, informal tone of the text. A readable, if denatured, rendition of a faded classic. (Fantasy. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4169-3977-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A moving exploration of the places we come from and the people who shape us—not to be missed.
On a birthday trip to New York City, a girl learns about her roots, Harlem, and how to stay true to herself.
Eleven-year-old sneakerhead Amara is struggling to feel seen and heard. A new baby sister is on the way, her mom still wants to put her in dresses, and that birthday trip from the Portland, Oregon, suburbs to New York City that she so desperately wants feels out of reach. When Amara gets a family-history assignment, she is finally able to convince her mom to say yes to the trip, since it will allow Amara to meet her dad’s side of the family in person. In addition to the school project, her mom gives Amara a secret mission: get her dad and grandpa to spend time alone together to repair old wounds. Harlem proves unlike any place Amara has ever been, and as she explores where her father grew up she experiences black history on every street. Watson is a master at character development, with New York City and especially Harlem playing central roles. Through her all-black cast she seamlessly explores issues of identity, self, and family acceptance. Although the ending feels rushed, with no resolution between Amara and her mom, Amara’s concluding poem is powerful.
A moving exploration of the places we come from and the people who shape us—not to be missed. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68119-108-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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