Eloquent, poignant, this is for sensitive young readers who are missing old friends but ready to admit new ones.
A boy misses his best friend whenever it rains. And there have been 269 days of rain since she moved away a year ago.
In this atmospheric tale translated from the original Norwegian, the rain reflects his melancholy. Full-bleed art awash in grays deepens the feeling, and the boy appears almost exclusively alone. Even in the classroom his loneliness is visceral. Mom is mentioned, and Dad appears in the picture sometimes, but they seem remote too. He wishes he had a cat to curl up in his lap. When the doorbell rings, it’s not his friend but the letter carrier—with a welcome package from his very best friend: chocolate and a playful note. This brings back fond memories. “She made the sun rise and shine within him.” The gorgeous, image-rich text and the repetition of phrases drive home his sadness…and hope. Finally, the sky is blue and a car pulls up in front of his friend’s old house. A new girl carrying a cat in her arms steps out. The cover illustration, of the boy and his friend “playing Indian,” repeats an inside spread and will likely give many North American readers pause.
Eloquent, poignant, this is for sensitive young readers who are missing old friends but ready to admit new ones. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-3-89955-773-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little Gestalten
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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