The time is 1951, the place is small-town Tennessee, and the country is at war with Korea. But seven-year-old Leandra and her friends have a war of their own: a dog is terrorizing them. Tippy Lemmey, the dog with a first and last name, barks and chases and generally makes Leandra, Paul, and Jeannie’s lives very difficult. In this new addition to the Ready-for-Chapters series, McKissack tells the fast-paced story of friendship and acceptance. Leandra’s father loves her “as much as heaven will allow” and both parents are solid and caring. Her father straddles that fine line between listening to his frightened daughter and allowing her to solve her own problems. Turns out the Lemmeys are raising Tippy Lemmey because the real owner, their son, is serving in the army in Korea. When Tippy Lemmey is stolen by dognappers intent on selling stolen dogs, the children are faced with a dilemma. On one hand, Tippy has made their lives difficult. On the other, their new friends, the Lemmeys, love their beloved son’s dog. The children come to the dog’s rescue and the dog comes to their rescue as well. The familiar situations and exciting plot will keep the pages turning, but the characters will stay with the new reader long after the story is put away. Short chapters, frequent pencil illustrations, generous font and white space are all hallmarks of a book for new chapter book readers, and this one is perfect on all counts. Best of breed. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-689-85019-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A boy who shares Abraham Lincoln’s birthday muses on what Lincoln means to him. He’s tall and skinny and has big hands and feet, just like A. Lincoln (he didn’t like to be called Abe). “Big buttons on his coat. Big words in his heart. Big hands and big feet like mine” the boy notes as he passes a bronze statue of Lincoln while riding the school bus. When the boy’s buddies call him “Butterfingers” and “Butterfeet” because he stumbles into wet paint, his teacher tells him that Lincoln was called names such as “gorilla” and “baboon.” Lewin’s illustrations are the clear, realistically modeled watercolors readers have come to expect, placed over or against black-and-white drawings of Lincoln. These images of Lincoln at different points in his life make a powerful collage, which Lewin creates with fervor. There’s nothing preachy about Borden’s text, which makes the boy’s connection to this historical figure immediate, honest, and straightforward. It introduces Lincoln with beautiful simplicity to the youngest of children. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-45714-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1999
A song made famous by a host of singers has become a picture book that well suits the lyric’s eloquent plea for universal peace and understanding. Based on a utopian vision of what the world could and should be like, the intricate folk-art drawings show the earth, first from a great distance, then increasingly closer and more intimately. As the text shifts from describing scenes of harmony and plenty to more ominous images of war and want, the illustrations depict troubled faces in the windows of homes and military activity in the background. The spare text and powerful images work in accord to provide educators and parents with a book that can be used to stimulate discussion of many different issues. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-525-45872-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1999
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