A bright future goes dim when Mandy's father is killed in WWII, and a returning veteran takes her mother's job. They have to move, to cranky Aunt Bess's farm. At first, Mandy doesn't want to fit in, either at her new school, or on the farm, where Aunt Bess tells her to tend the sheep—but her stubbornness begins to melt as she develops affection for the flock, and makes two friends. Still, she pines for her old town and the house her father had always talked of buying. A spring flood and a family crisis develop simultaneously when Mandy's mother proposes buying a local general store with Aunt Bess's lamb money; in a heavy rainstorm, Mandy finds the sheep cut off on a low rise, and must decide whether to prevent the sale by leaving them to their fate, or try a rescue. As it turns out, the water is already too deep, but she keeps the flock together through a long night, and by the time help arrives in the morning, has straightened her priorities. Willis plots a predictable but sturdy story, with a slightly antique flavor and a cast whose good hearts are frequently disguised beneath crusty or careless exteriors. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: March 27, 1995
ISBN: 0-395-68708-X
Page Count: 188
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
A conventional but exciting sports story, hung about with soccer lore and lingo, plenty of action, former players reliving their glory days, and an awestruck American fifth-grader as witness. Marty Regan, a marginal student at London's American School but a committed fan of English football, jumps at a chance to become a gofer for the Belsize Park Bombers. Coached by Jack Buxley, who led the club to its last London Football Association Challenge Cup 40 years ago, the Bombers are skirting the edge of bankruptcy and the loss of their First Division status. Still, despite the sale of one star player and the slump of another, they stage an amazing series of upsets, battling their way once again to the finals at Wembley. Without slowing the pace, Chapin (a former sportswriter) takes readers on a tour of the sport, delivering lucid accounts of its rules, history, and tangle of organizations, defining slang and special terms and creating a sense of high drama in match after match (``Football is not a game,'' says Marty with quiet certainty). School and family business create only minor ripples here. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: June 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-374-34849-9
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1994
All the really grand stories that Juliet has ever heard have come from her elderly friend Paddy Old. When he dies, she's not only unprepared for the loss of the storyteller's company; she mourns his words, In her grief she ruins her friendship with Kitty Ann, while her parents, who are expecting a second child, perceive her only as a sullen problem. Then, in swoops Grandmamma to take the girl on a trip, during which Juliet not only hears others' stories but finds a few of her own. In his first book for children, the well-known author retells old tales with the compact energy and tidiness of a master, anchoring them betwixt events as Juliet travels from her Irish home by ship and train, witnesses one man after another fall for pretty Grandmamma, and learns to be a prime mover in mischief. Brisk and bubbling with good will and the imaginings of a gentle girl. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: June 30, 1994
ISBN: 0099417731
Page Count: 106
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1994
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