Tender, loving, and sad.
The moon moves through the night sky, and another day inevitably arrives.
Max and Ely need to stop that from happening so Ely won’t have to leave. They build a rocket that will lasso the moon and hold it in place. The scheme doesn’t work, but Max refuses to give up. His anger at the moon intensifies with each setback. But morning arrives anyway, and Ely must go to the hospital. Max promises never to give up “not ’til the end of the end of the very end of the world.” Finally he begs Moon to watch over the friend he misses so much. When Ely comes home, he and Max build a new and better rocket, and they take off for the moon. But only Ely stays. Max returns sadly to Earth and tearfully sends a message telling Moon he’ll always be watching. Max’s sadness and confusion are treated with gentle compassion. Wunderli withholds a great deal, only gradually hinting at the seriousness of Ely’s illness, which is not named, and the word death is never used. Di Gravio’s illustrations provide more information. Max has brown skin, and Ely presents White. Ely is seen in a wheelchair from the beginning. He is hairless when he comes home, and he appears weak and tired. Young children are literal, and this presentation of death and loss may be too subtle for many. The work definitely calls for young readers to have an adult at their side for reassurance and explanations as they read together.
Tender, loving, and sad. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64170-269-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Familius
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In all, it's an unsuccessful follow-up to Weeks' Pie (2011), but word-loving Melody is appealing, and her appended list of...
Melody Bishop's peaceful life with her widower father is upset when the annoying 6-year-old next door comes home from the beauty parlor with some gossip.
The 10-year-old has already noticed her father's increased distraction and a new tendency to whistle, so when Teeny Nelson reports that "Henry's been bitten by the love bug," Melody is avid to know more. With her best friend, biracial Nick Woo, at her side, she goes to the Bee Hive beauty salon to investigate. What she discovers there rocks her world not once but twice, as salon owner Bee-Bee has information about Melody's mother, who died in childbirth and about whom her father never speaks. Weeks gets the small moments right: Melody's exasperation with Teeny and the way it turns to sympathy when the little girl's mother threatens a spanking; her affectionate resignation when her grandfather, who has emphysema, sneaks out to the garage for a smoke. And Melody's close relationship with her loving father is sweetly evoked. But other elements fail to cohere. Obvious misdirection leads Melody to a critical misunderstanding that never amounts to more than a plot contrivance, and the mystical visions of Bee-Bee's dog, Mo, who has an unknown connection to Melody, strain credulity.
In all, it's an unsuccessful follow-up to Weeks' Pie (2011), but word-loving Melody is appealing, and her appended list of nail-polish colors is somewhat amusing. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-46557-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
An emotional entry point to a larger, necessary discussion on this complex and difficult subject.
The paths of four migrant children from different Central American countries cross as they enter Mexico, and together they continue their journey to the United States.
Though their reasons for undertaking the perilous journey are different, their hopes are not: They all hope for asylum in the U.S. Ten-year-old Alessandra, from Guatemala, hopes to reunite with her mother, who left four years ago. Thirteen-year-old Laura and her 7-year-old brother, Nando, from El Salvador, are going to live with relatives in the U.S. And 14-year-old Rodrigo, from Honduras, will try to join his parents in Nebraska rather than join a local gang. Along the way they encounter danger, hunger, kindness from strangers, and, most importantly, the strength of friendship with one another. Through the four children, the book provides but the barest glimpse into the reasons, hopes, and dreams of the thousands of unaccompanied minors that arrive at the U.S.–Mexico border every year. Artist Guevara has added Central American folk art–influenced details to her illustrations, giving depth to the artwork. These embellishments appear as line drawings superimposed on the watercolor scenes. The backmatter explains the reasons for the book, helping to place it within the larger context of ongoing projects at Baylor University related to the migration crisis in Central America.
An emotional entry point to a larger, necessary discussion on this complex and difficult subject. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64442-008-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Six Foot Press
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
