When Andy Hoddell was a small boy, he was the same as the other four; then, little by little, a window seemed to close on him; now at twelve he is different, and even Andy knows it. So that when he tells Matt and Joe and Terry and Mike that he has bought Beccham Park Trotting Course for three dollars, they are aghast. Not so the groundskeepers and ticket takers and concessionaires—everyone likes Andy, everyone hails him as the owner, everyone is glad that he's the owner; even Joe, who is most bothered by the prospect of Andy's dream crashing down around his ears, begins to doubt.... Against this authentic, incredibly poignant dilemma, Andy plays the part of the owner; he nurtures the graceful onion weed in the flower beds; sies a pack of curs after the mechanical hare on the greyhound track; decorates a decrepit grandstand with streamers for Joe's birthday. When the band uniforms are ruined by old paint Andy applied to the benches, the owners meet to take action—and decide to buy Andy out. As a character, Andy is so immediately and implicitly realized that it seems gross to speak of him as a retarded child, which is probably all that need be said about this buoyant book.
Pub Date: March 1, 1968
ISBN: 0152650806
Page Count: -
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace & World
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1968
Thirty rib-tickling tales of Wayside School, where the classrooms are stacked one atop the other, dead rats live in the basement, and there's no 19th floor—usually. It's a long haul from the playground to the 30th floor, past the principal's office (lair of Mr. Kidswatter), past the lunchroom, where Miss Mush makes her Mushroom Surprise, past Miss Zarves' class on the 19th floor that isn't there; but the children don't mind, for Mrs. Jewls—their favorite teacher—is waiting for them. Wayside School is never dull; if Mrs. Jewls isn't demonstrating gravity by dropping the new computer out the window or delivering words of wisdom ("It doesn't matter what you wear on the outside. It's what's underneath that counts. If you want to be great and important, you have to wear expensive underpants"), her students liven things up: among other startling events, Sharie brings in a hobo for show-and-tell; Calvin shows off his birthday tattoo; and the ghost of dreaded former teacher Mrs. Gorf animates Miss Mush's potato salad. Each short episode is prefaced with a simple, evocative line drawing. Sachar has a gift for having fun without poking it too sharply, and beneath all the frivolity there very often lurks some idea or observation worth pondering. A sure-to-please sequel to Sideways Stories from Wayside School.
Pub Date: March 22, 1989
ISBN: 0380754843
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1989
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fun but inessential novelty, as much toy as book.
A familiar song repackaged as a board book doubles as a finger puppet.
Many a caregiver has sung this refrain to a newborn or toddler, ignoring the decidedly sad lyrics of the original. Magsamen lays claim and sweetens it up. She uses only the chorus and changes the last line to “I’ll give you lots of hugs… / and kisses every day” instead of the expected “Please don’t take my sunshine away.” Her cheery artwork, reminiscent of applique, recalls the song’s country-music roots and is anything but sad. The pages are decorated with hearts and cuddly-looking caregiver-child animal pairs—foxes, skunks with sunny yellow umbrellas, bunnies, raccoons, and squirrels. The thick, heart-shaped pages include a circular die-cut hole through which readers might poke the smiling felt sun puppet attached to the back cover. A finger inserted from the back makes the sun wiggle and will capture even the youngest baby’s attention. The puppet feature does not obstruct the initial page turns, but when a toddler says, “Do it again” (as they doubtless will), quickly re-positioning the finger puppet is somewhat challenging.
A fun but inessential novelty, as much toy as book. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-30576-0
Page Count: 6
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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