A porcine ingénue narrowly escapes being the main entrée at a country fair, thanks to some fancy footwork and cunning deductions of her companion, Moose. When Hildy, a vainglorious pig, receives a gracious invite to a Pig Pickin’ competiton, she naturally assumes she’s competing for the title of a beauty queen. However, Moose comes to the realization en route that Hildy may be headed to a destination of a different sort. Greene’s farcical tale relies heavily on gags and Hildy’s utter naïveté in the face of the ominous evidence. With a slick farmer villain to boo, a wily Moose to champion and a damsel in distress—albeit a bit of a buffoon—Greene’s country caper will have readers eagerly turning the pages to the climatic conclusion. Mathieu’s pencil-and-gray wash illustrations feature largely throughout the tale, making this a nice bridge for readers who are ready to make the leap from beginning chapter books to more challenging reading. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7614-5324-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Diarist Keena Ford is ambivalent about second grade: Girls and boys are placed in separate classes, so she will not be with her best friend, Eric. But she resolves to do her best and when Ms. Coleman turns up on the first day of school in a “COOL BELT WITH SPARKLES,” she decides things are looking up. When she mixes up her dates and leads her teacher to believe that the next day is her birthday, greed for chocolate cake overcomes honesty, plunging her into ever-deeper hot water. Morrison’s amiable illustrations clearly depict Keena as a lively African-American girl, but there is little in the text to lend her any ethnic or cultural specificity. The result is that she seems to be just another sassy, impulsive chapter-book heroine à la Clementine or Moxy Maxwell. Still, her escapades and the way she handles them ring with an emotional honesty readers will recognize: If she continues to develop, she has the potential to become a genuine character in her own right. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3263-6
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This easy reader for children reading at the fluency level recounts the story of a girl named Mary Ann Anning and her dog, Tray. They lived on the coast of England in the early 1800s, although the time frame is given only as “a long, long time ago.” Mary Ann and Tray became famous for their discoveries of fossils, including dinosaur bones. They discovered the first pterodactyl found in England, and the name was assigned to their fossil. The story focuses a little too much on the dog, and the title misses a great opportunity to completely acknowledge a girl accomplishing something important in the scientific world, especially in a much earlier era and without formal training or education. Despite this drawback, both Mary Ann and Tray are appealing characters and the discovery of the fossils and subsequent notice from scientists, collectors, and even royalty is appealing and well written. Sullivan’s illustrations provide intriguing period details in costumes, tools, and buildings, as well as a clever front endpaper of fossil-strewn ground covered with muddy paw prints. (Easy reader. 6-8)
Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-689-85708-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2004
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