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SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER

Name: SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER
Author: Phyllis Galley Westover
ISBN: 978-1481123037

by Phyllis Galley Westover ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2013

A slim novel for young readers that deftly imagines the love of a boy for his pony.

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This children’s novel looks at how human-animal relationships sometimes defy logic.

In 1948, young Jed’s rancher employer buys a sick, starving pony named Dusty, and Jed falls in love with it almost immediately. Mr. Ural plans to sell the pony after he nurses it back to health, but that doesn’t stop Jed from developing a deep friendship with it. Jed takes odd jobs at Mr. Ural’s farm and other places in Canton, Ohio, to earn money to buy Dusty before he’s put up for auction at the county fair. But the day before the auction, Jed comes up short: He has only $500, and Mr. Ural expects to get at least $600 for the pony. After almost giving in to despair, Jed attends the auction in the hope that his $500 will be enough, only to find himself engaged in a tight bidding war that surpasses his budget. Soon he and his friend Tommy come up with a unique solution to the difficult problem. This short chapter book, full of charming black-and-white illustrations, may leave some readers confused about its setting and time period, which aren’t clarified immediately. But the story’s theme—about the friendship a child can form with an animal, even if that animal isn’t his—will be easy for young readers to identify with. Westover is surprisingly adept at capturing a young boy’s point of view, and her glossary and discussion topics make this book suitable for reading groups or classrooms. Although the plot is somewhat slight, with little action until the intense auction scene, there’s a lot for students to discuss here, and some moments that adults will appreciate as well.

A slim novel for young readers that deftly imagines the love of a boy for his pony.

Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2013

ISBN: 978-1481123037

Page Count: 68

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2013

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S SPRINGTIME

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 2, 2018

Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.

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Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.

This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.

Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)