by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1987
A skilled author explores the family pressures that impel a talented 17-year-old to opt for time at a low-status job before considering college. George's lawyer father has had the lives of his four children planned since birth, but reality doesn't conform. Eldest child Trish has married after two years at college; Jeri is sneaking out with boys in the wee hours; the youngest, Ollie, doesn't do well in school. But it's George who asserts his independence: deliberately failing to get into his father's chosen colleges, he gets a job at a garden center, then as a messenger—grueling work, but his choice. And because this is an honest family with a will to solve problems in spite of its members, inflexibility, George's move ultimately wins his parents' respect and more self-determination for ail—including Mom, who prefers teaching to promotion. At the conclusion, George is off to the local college to study counseling—his own idea. A lot goes on in this transitional year: George has four girls in his life (the least interesting relationship is the one in which he loses his virginity; later, he quits his first job because his boss tries to seduce him); one of his best friends has a bisexual father, another almost drowns after an alcoholic binge. But Naylor weaves all into a thoughtful, well-balanced story, sure to hold readers' attention as much by realistic characters and circumstances as by the plot's more arresting turns.
Pub Date: April 1, 1987
ISBN: 0440215919
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987
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by Josh Schneider & illustrated by Josh Schneider ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Sandra Equihua ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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adapted by Hannah Eliot ; illustrated by Nivea Ortiz
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