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SILVER AT NIGHT

Bartoletti (Study Skills Workout, not reviewed) tells of Massimino, who works for the landlord of his Italian village and wants a better life. He leaves his home and his sweetheart, Perina, and goes across the sea to America. When he gets there he works in a coal mine and saves up money until he finally has enough to send for her. When Perina arrives, Massimino says, ``At last we are together.... Now we are rich indeed.'' But wait a minute. Weren't they together in Italy? Why did they both make the arduous journey to an American mining town if the goal was togetherness? This is only one of the questions that bugs the reader in this confusing tale of immigrant life. It is also difficult to understand how Massimino's lot improves when he reaches America. True, he earns money. But the coal mine is hardly an ideal place. And though he claims that he will soon have enough to buy a piece of land of his own, the reader never sees this happen—and anyone who's heard of the company store is bound to be suspicious of his optimism. A fuzzy look at immigrant hardship. (Fiction/Picture book. 5-9)

Pub Date: Oct. 3, 1994

ISBN: 0-517-59426-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1994

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RIVER STORY

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

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KEENA FORD AND THE FIELD TRIP MIX-UP

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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