This simple, endearing story has universal appeal.
A seemingly ordinary guinea pig becomes extraordinary through the nurturing love of the family who adopts her.
It’s not often that you get to read a guinea pig’s autobiography. Especially one with ambitions to be not only seen, but heard. When a young girl named Lisa adopts the narrator and names her Peggy, it is understood not only that Lisa believes in Peggy, but that Peggy recognizes Lisa as special as well. Soon Peggy and Lisa take turns listening to each other, sharing family routines, and navigating the challenges of the surrounding world. Peggy even learns to climb stairs and to walk with a leash. Peggy’s consistent and persistent efforts reflect the advice of Lisa’s mother: “The difficult is done immediately. The impossible takes a little longer.” Eventually Peggy wins public recognition for her accomplishments. Multiaward winner Roy Miki is a member of the Order of Canada, and this is the second children’s book he has written with his wife, Slavia Miki. The story is based on true events in the life of the Mikis’ daughter and is enhanced by Ando’s appealing line-and-color illustrations. Lisa is biracial, with an East Asian dad and White mom; Peggy is completely adorable, with white fur and pink eyes, ears, and feet. There’s art on every spread; it combines with the short chapters to make this an especially apt choice for transitioning readers.
This simple, endearing story has universal appeal. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-926890-21-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Tradewind Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Charming.
An assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.
Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, old-fashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin.
Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942485
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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