Lucky Annabelle: she makes instant friends in her new school; then, in the euphoria at the end of her first day, she invites her entire class to Grandma's for an impromptu ``birthday'' party, Grandma rises handsomely to the occasion, providing not only ice cream but a cake in full regalia. Conscientiously trying to forestall objections, Kroll stretches credulity—mothers are consulted before these second graders go en masse to a stranger's apartment, but that's only possible because every mother arrives to pick up her child after school. Still, reality recurs when Grandma follows up the party with a thoughtful command: Annabelle must explain to her class that it wasn't her birthday. She tempers this stern requirement with cookies to share and some good advice about how to handle the confession, so that there are no recriminations or misunderstandings. With five brief, easily read chapters, this light, upbeat story makes good transitional fare. Owen's nicely observed b&w illustrations reinforce the wholesome good humor. (Fiction/Young reader. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1991
ISBN: 0-02-751171-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1991
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
Keena Ford’s second-grade class is taking a field trip to the United States Capitol. This good-hearted girl works hard to behave, but her impulsive decisions have a way of backfiring, no matter how hard she tries to do the right thing. In this second book in a series, Keena cuts off one of her braids and later causes a congressman to fall down the stairs. The first-person journal format is a stretch—most second graders can barely write, let alone tell every detail of three days of her life. Children will wonder how Keena can cut one of her “two thick braids” all the way off by pretend-snipping in the air. They will be further confused because the cover art clearly shows Keena with a completely different hairdo on the field trip than the one described. Though a strong African-American heroine is most welcome in chapter books and Keena and her family are likable and realistic, this series needs more polish before Keena writes about her next month in school. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3264-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2009
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