by Pete Sanders & illustrated by Mike Lacey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1996
Part of the What Do You Know About series that addresses social issues, this introduction to a topic all too common to childhood is welcome, although its combination of a fictional story and nonlinear nonfiction makes it tricky to follow at times. A cartoon strip narrative about Wayne, who bullies another boy to win the approval of a gang but gets caught, is interwoven with general information on the subject and hints on coping with bullies; a photographic third strand shows children interacting. Sanders (Death and Dying, 1991, etc.) gently addresses racism as a form of bullying as well. The messages include standing up to the bully (sometimes), leaving (sometimes), and consulting with an adult, who may have a variety of advice, approaches, and reactions. Clearly the book is intended for use with groups, although individual readers may find it helpful, especially the list of associations relating to such issues as safety and child abuse. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-7613-0537-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Copper Beech/Millbrook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1996
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BOOK REVIEW
by Pete Sanders
by Natalie Babbitt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1975
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
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BOOK REVIEW
by Valerie Worth & illustrated by Natalie Babbitt
by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 3, 2017
Medically, both squicky and hopeful; emotionally, unbelievably squeaky-clean.
A 12-year-old copes with a brain tumor.
Maddie likes potatoes and fake mustaches. Kids at school are nice (except one whom readers will see instantly is a bully); soon they’ll get to perform Shakespeare scenes in a unit they’ve all been looking forward to. But recent dysfunctions in Maddie’s arm and leg mean, stunningly, that she has a brain tumor. She has two surgeries, the first successful, the second taking place after the book’s end, leaving readers hanging. The tumor’s not malignant, but it—or the surgeries—could cause sight loss, personality change, or death. The descriptions of surgery aren’t for the faint of heart. The authors—parents of a real-life Maddie who really had a brain tumor—imbue fictional Maddie’s first-person narration with quirky turns of phrase (“For the love of potatoes!”) and whimsy (she imagines her medical battles as epic fantasy fights and pretends MRI stands for Mustard Rat from Indiana or Mustaches Rock Importantly), but they also portray her as a model sick kid. She’s frightened but never acts out, snaps, or resists. Her most frequent commentary about the tumor, having her skull opened, and the possibility of death is “Boo” or “Super boo.” She even shoulders the bully’s redemption. Maddie and most characters are white; one cringe-inducing hallucinatory surgery dream involves “chanting island natives” and a “witch doctor lady.”
Medically, both squicky and hopeful; emotionally, unbelievably squeaky-clean. (authors’ note, discussion questions) (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62972-330-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown
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by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown ; illustrated by Garth Bruner
BOOK REVIEW
by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown
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