Ike and Mem are pressured into visiting the Hawkins place, an abandoned and haunted house on the outskirts of town, but find that they are in for more than just an adventure. As Ike and Mem and their friends step on to the property, they notice a shed in back full of pigeons. Dave breaks a window to try to free them, but the loud crash frightens all the children into running away. Mem tells Ike that she saw someone watching from the window and they return to investigate—only to find themselves face to face with Mr. Hawkins. He is unhappy with the broken window and asks Ike and Mem for their phone number, but neither can remember it. He ominously tells them that he will be in touch. Ike’s conscience will not let him rest once he returns home, but instead of a beating heart, he hears the steady “Coo, coo, coo” of a pigeon. Ike and Mem find that Mr. Hawkins has sent a pigeon as a reminder and they eventually tell their parents the whole story, prompting a second and friendlier visit to the Hawkins place. Periodic pencil drawings accompany this very quiet, somewhat thoughtful tale. Young readers will want to stay tuned for other volumes of the adventures of Ike and Mem that are sure to follow. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Dec. 30, 2001
ISBN: 0-8234-1670-4
Page Count: 55
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2002
Simple text, short chapters, and plenty of illustrations will appeal to emerging readers who prefer just a little shiver...
What happens if you move to a new town and your house is haunted? Andres is about to find out!
Andres Miedoso—his last name means “fearful” in Spanish—is “definitely not the coolest and bravest kid in the world.” In fact, Andres likes normal-boring and understands normal-boring, because he is normal-boring. But when the brown-skinned, curly haired Latino child and his family move to Kersville, he finds out his new home is anything but normal-boring. Fortunately, his next-door neighbor, a black boy named Desmond Cole who is the same age as Andres, is “the coolest, bravest kid in the world.” Desmond’s business as stated on his business card is “Ghost Patrol.” How lucky should a boy feel to live in a haunted house? Very—if you’re Desmond. Not so lucky if you’re Andres. But when the ghost eats a lasagna that makes him sick and tells them he’s been moving from house to house, Andres feels sorry and invites the ghost to stay as long as he promises “not to do any spooky stuff.” A deal is struck, a friendship is born, and a new series for chapter-book readers gets off to a good start.
Simple text, short chapters, and plenty of illustrations will appeal to emerging readers who prefer just a little shiver with their story—and to other readers too. (Suspense. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1039-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
Chin introduces the world of old-growth redwood forests to young readers in this effective mix of fiction and nonfiction. Finding his own image on the cover of an abandoned book—this book, with metaliterary self-reference—an Asian-American boy scans it and is seamlessly swept into a stunning new watercolor world that juxtaposes a straightforward nonfiction text against fantastical images. A Roman Centurion and a toga-clad citizen flank him on the subway as he reads that redwoods “can live for more than 2,000 years.” Carrying the book as he walks through the forest, he learns about its growth patterns and its properties. He experiences the redwood’s ability to generate under-the-canopy rain and races ahead of a blaze while he reads about its ability to survive fire. The adventure intensifies when he springs into a climber’s harness, horizontal sequential panels allowing him to view the redwood’s inhabitants level by level. Rappelling down, he alights in a city park, where he leaves the book for another child to find. An inventive, eye-opening adventure. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59643-430-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Flash Point/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2009
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