A children’s story that engagingly explores how children can handle dares creatively and successfully.
In this children’s book, Olivia breaks a window, gains a new friend and learns life lessons by taking on a series of dares.
Author/illustrator Thomas (The Most Special Place on Earth, 2011, etc.) tells a moral tale about an adventurous girl. Olivia loves to play in the park with her friends, and one day, while skipping stones in her Halloween witch costume, Olivia accepts a dare from her friend to throw a rock at a nearby house. When she accidently breaks the window, her friend runs off, leaving the green-faced Olivia to face the disgruntled homeowner. The old woman takes pity on the tearful girl and urges Olivia to learn from her mistakes. She challenges Olivia by daring her to “make something beautiful.” When Olivia returns with a model of a large, colorful castle, the old woman next gives her a series of challenges for self-improvement. She dares Olivia to listen to herself, to learn new things and become a better person. Classic children’s authors have flipped the didactic fable upside down with imaginative stories in which children take on challenges, leave their ordinary world and travel to the chaotic unknown, as in Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat (1957). This book’s didactic narrative tells readers that “Olivia had trusted her feelings and it felt good”; however, readers never experience the little girl’s struggles or failures, which keeps them at a distance. That said, Thomas writes smoothly and with experience, despite overusing the word “special.” The illustrations use black outlines and vivid colored pencils, with figures shown in a sort of hieroglyphic pose, arms outstretched, facing forward, feet to the side, although, once, Olivia is shown in a more natural position, sitting cross-legged with her art supplies. Throughout, Thomas ably combines the lengthy text with full-scene drawings through the use of lively colors.
A children’s story that engagingly explores how children can handle dares creatively and successfully.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-0615740478
Page Count: 41
Publisher: Happy River Press
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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