Once again, this talented author/illustrator brings the past to life for young listeners and introduces them to...
Polacco shares the story of a World War II veteran who served in the Pacific as a very young man.
According to the author’s note, her intention was to “tell it as nearly as I can in his own words.” Assuming she succeeded, Johnnie Wallen was a thoughtful and eloquent individual whose words convey the horrors of war while also offering glimpses of humanity and hope. Inspired to join the Army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the “Kentucky Kid,” as he was known, was initially teased for his youth but gained the respect of his comrades for his marksmanship and skill with explosives. The colloquial, conversational text skims over the many battles in which Wallen’s infantry unit was involved to focus on Johnnie’s redemptive connection to an emotionally fragile young Filipino girl. Little Heart’s difficult experiences are delicately depicted, allowing young readers to see clearly the impact of war on children and families. In an unlikely, heartwarming (and true) twist, Little Heart eventually finds a way to repay “Tucky Jo” for his help and care. Polacco’s illustrations, created with colored pencil and marker, effectively reflect the action and illuminate the emotions of major and minor players without explicit violence or mawkish sentimentality.
Once again, this talented author/illustrator brings the past to life for young listeners and introduces them to unforgettable, admirable characters in the process . (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-1584-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage...
This sequel to The Lemonade War (2007), picking up just a few days later, focuses on how the fourth graders take justice into their own hands after learning that the main suspect in the case of the missing lemonade-stand money now owns the latest in game-box technology.
Siblings Evan and Jessie (who skipped third grade because of her precocity) are sure Scott Spencer stole the $208 from Evan’s shorts and want revenge, especially as Scott’s new toy makes him the most popular kid in class, despite his personal shortcomings. Jessie’s solution is to orchestrate a full-blown trial by jury after school, while Evan prefers to challenge Scott in basketball. Neither channel proves satisfactory for the two protagonists (whose rational and emotional reactions are followed throughout the third-person narrative), though, ultimately, the matter is resolved. Set during the week of Yom Kippur, the story raises beginning questions of fairness, integrity, sin and atonement. Like John Grisham's Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer (2010), much of the book is taken up with introducing courtroom proceedings for a fourth-grade level of understanding. Chapter headings provide definitions (“due diligence,” “circumstantial evidence,” etc.) and explanation cards/documents drawn by Jessie are interspersed.
Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage with the characters enough to care about how the justice actually pans out. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: May 2, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-27967-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nine-year-old Hank Wolowitz fears the prospect of fourth grade at New York’s PS 166 without friends—his best friend Alexander just moved away (against his will). Sasha Chin from downstairs doesn’t really count as a friend, because she has three good girl friends she hangs out with half the time. When Hank reaches for a Lego piece under the sink of his family’s ice-cream shop, Big Round Pumpkin, and feels fur where it shouldn’t be and days later sees a waffle cone disappear bite by bite, he knows something is fishy. After Rootbeer, the neighbor’s dog, goes bananas barking at nothing in the hallway, Hank discovers he has accidentally saved an invisible, furry Bandapat named Inkling. Inkling, who loves squash and can be a stranger to the truth, feels he owes Hank a debt and must stick around until he can save Hank’s life. An opportunity for that just might arise, since bully Bruno Gillicut has decided that Hank annoys him and must pay by forking over his dessert at lunch every day. Jenkins’ possible series starter (given the hints at the close) is a gently humorous and nicely realistic (with the obvious exception of the invisible Peruvian Bandapat) tale about coping with the loss of a lifelong best friend. (The book will feature Bliss’ signature black-and-white illustrations, but no art was available at the time of review.) Anyone who who has ever had an imaginary friend will appreciate sassy Inkling (who’s invisible—not imaginary). (Fantasy. 7-10)
Pub Date: April 26, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-180220-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
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