Effervescent Rosy has been eagerly looking forward to giving her country mouse cousin, Duncan, the Big Apple adventure tour of a lifetime, packed with every tourist landmark imaginable. So she’s horrified when a pale fearful child “with a barf bucket around his neck” and strict instructions from his mother to “avoid strange foods that could be . . . full of unknown ingredients” emerges from the airplane. Not one to be daunted by a lack of enthusiasm, Rosy plunges ahead with her busy agenda, but plan after plan is derailed. As Rosy becomes increasingly frustrated, Duncan loosens up, playing his harmonica on the street, trying exotic foods, and getting into what he calls “Hot Pot New York,” a rich broth of people from different cultures who each add their own unique spice to the mix. Greenwald, who also provides humorous line illustrations, delivers her message with a light comic touch that younger readers are sure to enjoy. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2003
ISBN: 0-374-36349-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Melanie Kroupa/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2003
Positing that bullies only act that way because they’re lonely, O’Neill (Loud Emily, 1998) puts seemingly meek, new classmate Katie Sue up against aggressive Mean Jean, swaggering boss of the playground. Knowing but one way to deal with challengers (“she’d push ’em and smoosh ’em, / lollapaloosh ’em, / hammer ’em, slammer ’em, / kitz and kajammer ’em . . .”), Mean Jean roughly tries to set Katie Sue straight on the pecking order. But Katie Sue stands up to her with a cheeky, “How DID you get to be so bossy?” and pulls out a jump rope, inviting Mean Jean to jump along. Presto change-o, a friendship is born. Huliska-Beith’s (The Book of Bad Ideas, 2000, etc.) rubbery-limbed figures, rolling perspectives, and neon-bright colors reflect the text’s informality as well as its frenzied energy. Though the suggested strategy works far more easily here than it would in real life, young readers will be caught up by Katie Sue’s engaging, fizzy exuberance. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-439-20637-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fourth grade was supposed to be the best year ever, but when do events ever go according to plan? Usually starting with good intentions or, at the least, blind thoughtlessness, Bobby careens from one disastrous mess to another. Many of these situations involve the boys-against-girls mentality that makes for normal behavior in nine-year-olds. He and his best friend Holly know that they can’t be seen walking to school together, and they are pulled further apart by peer pressure, even running against each other for class office. Add to these woes a working mom, a famous dad who cooks inedible meals and a pet goldfish who can do tricks. Yee really understands children’s thought processes and presents them with tact and good humor. Bobby’s dilemmas and adventures, however wild and out of control, remain totally believable. Santat’s drawings manage the fine line between cartoon and realism and add dimension to the events. Readers will recognize themselves and learn some gentle lessons about relationships while they are laughing at the antics. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-545-05592-5
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
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