A lovely read in the Shu-Li series that provides diversity and celebrations of heritage for young readers.
Shu-Li and her classmates try to harness the magic of a neighbor’s pear tree to save their school.
It’s the end of summer vacation as Shu-Li heads to Mrs. Rossi’s house with her friend Tamara in tow. Shu-Li loves her volunteer work reading to the warmhearted Mrs. Rossi for her “Deed of the Week,” especially because the elderly woman has a beautiful garden and shares wonderful tales about magic pear trees. Back at school, misfortune arrives as Shu-Li is informed that her beloved neighborhood school may close and Tamara’s family may be forced to move away. When Shu-Li’s classmates play in Mrs. Rossi’s garden, a pear falls on Diego’s head as he wishes that his dog recovers from illness. When Diego’s dog makes a full recovery, the children begin to believe that Mrs. Rossi’s pear tree can make their wishes come true. Yee’s grasp of childhood delights and the diversity of characters and cultures are a winning combination. Shu-Li shares her Chinese culture with her class at a Vancouver school with a special Aboriginal program. Readers will also appreciate that the story is grounded in reality—the children begin to rely on their own resourceful problem-solving—as it deftly weaves in myth, fairy tales, and oral folklore. Wang’s inked illustrations are engaging and lovable, flowing beautifully with the story with restrained candor.
A lovely read in the Shu-Li series that provides diversity and celebrations of heritage for young readers. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-926890-15-9
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Tradewind Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair.
Fifth graders get into a hairy situation.
After an unnamed narrator’s full-page warning, readers dive right into a Wolver Hollow classroom. Mr. Noffler recounts the town legend about how, every Oct. 19, residents don fake mustaches and lock their doors. As the story goes, the late Bockius Beauregard was vaporized in an “unfortunate black powder incident,” but, somehow, his “magnificent mustache” survived to haunt the town. Once a year, the spectral ’stache searches for an exposed upper lip to rest upon. Is it real or superstition? Students Parker and Lucas—sole members of the Midnight Owl Detective Agency—decide to take the case and solve the mustache mystery. When they find that the book of legends they need for their research has been checked out from the library, they recruit the borrower: goth classmate Samantha von Oppelstein. Will the three of them be enough to take on the mustache and resolve its ghostly, unfinished business? Whether through ridiculous plot points or over-the-top descriptions, the comedy keeps coming in this first title in McGee’s new Night Frights series. A generous font and spacing make this quick-paced, 13-chapter story appealing to newly confident readers. Skaffa’s grayscale cartoon spot (and occasional full-page) illustrations help set the tone and accentuate the action. Though neither race or skin color is described in the text, images show Lucas and Samantha as light-skinned and Parker as dark-skinned.
Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair. (maps) (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8089-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
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BOOK REVIEW
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