Great for kids who want a pinch of magic in their slice-of-life stories.
A spunky fourth-grade seer fears her upcoming birthday will be a disaster.
Krystal Ball, who “may look small” but is “really a medium,” has premonitions, especially predictive dreams. A hazy vision gives her a bad feeling about her upcoming birthday party, but it is too vague for her to interpret. And she has much practice in interpretation, as the majority of her psychic powers manifest through highly metaphorical, wild dreams—the first of which features spiked-haired, chain-wearing Martians later revealed to refer to punk fans of a band, Army of Ares, that Krystal and her family encounter on their way to visit her tarot card–wielding grandmother. Readers will enjoy trying to guess what the dreams mean. Finally, disaster strikes: Plumbing problems from the apartment above Krystal’s home cause part of her living room’s ceiling to collapse, and the damage can’t be fixed in time for it to host her party. Of course, everything turns out OK in the end but not until Krystal forgives her upstairs neighbor and has another dream. Krystal’s first-person voice is occasionally didactic, but it fits her personality well enough not to be intrusive. She walks a careful balance between being confident enough to embrace her own offbeat style and being concerned that others might think she’s weird.
Great for kids who want a pinch of magic in their slice-of-life stories. (horoscopes by Krystal Ball, Krystal’s fortune game) (Fantasy. 6-10)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4795-3152-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Nov. 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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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