A school story that’s full of heart.
A challenging fourth grader faces the “meanest and nastiest” teacher in the school.
Readers will recognize Carter Avery when he blurts out a rude question about the port-wine stain on Ms. Krane’s face in their first meeting. He’s the kid with no filters. He struggles with writing. But, like Mr. Terupt in Buyea’s popular series, Ms. Krane knows how to deal with even the most difficult kids. She has challenges besides wiggly Carter and his nemesis, “bossy” Missy Gerber. Some parents don’t approve of Ms. Krane’s choice to have a baby as an unmarried woman. Buyea weaves all these elements into a suspenseful account of Carter’s year, told in the boy’s believable first-person voice. Readers will fill in the blanks in his unreliable narration, because they know kids like him—they may even share many of his difficulties. Carter doesn’t have friends among his classmates, but he does have caring adults in his life: the grandmother who’s raised him since his parents died, bus driver Mr. Wilson, and Farmer Don, whose eggs Carter and Grams buy. They’re patient with his behavior and his questions. They help him (and readers) understand donor insemination and why judgmental gossip is a problem. Carter decides that his secret mission will be sticking up for Ms. Krane as she has stuck up for him: becoming a good student and proving she’s a good teacher. His success is gratifying. Most characters present white.
A school story that’s full of heart. (Fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593376188
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers.
First volume of a planned three, this edited version of an ongoing online serial records a middle-school everykid’s triumphs and (more often) tribulations through the course of a school year.
Largely through his own fault, mishaps seem to plague Greg at every turn, from the minor freak-outs of finding himself permanently seated in class between two pierced stoners and then being saddled with his mom for a substitute teacher, to being forced to wrestle in gym with a weird classmate who has invited him to view his “secret freckle.” Presented in a mix of legible “hand-lettered” text and lots of simple cartoon illustrations with the punch lines often in dialogue balloons, Greg’s escapades, unwavering self-interest and sardonic commentary are a hoot and a half.
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-9313-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet!
Ryan Hart is navigating the fourth grade and all its challenges with determination.
Her mom named her Ryan because it means “king,” and she wanted Ryan to feel powerful every time she heard her name; Ryan knows it means she is a leader. So when changes occur or disaster strikes, budding chef Ryan does her best to find the positive and “make sunshine.” When her dad is laid off from the post office, the family must make adjustments that include moving into a smaller house, selling their car, and changing how they shop for groceries. But Ryan gets to stay at Vernon Elementary, and her mom still finds a way to get her the ingredients she needs to practice new recipes. Her older brother, Ray, can be bossy, but he finds little ways to support her, especially when she is down—as does the whole family. Each episodic chapter confronts Ryan with a situation; intermittently funny, frustrating, and touching, they should be familiar and accessible to readers, as when Ryan fumbles her Easter speech despite careful practice. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and Watson continues to bring visibility to both Portland, Oregon, generally and its Black community specifically, making another wonderful contribution that allows Black readers to see themselves and all readers to find a character they can love.
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet! (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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