In the first of two short stories about school life in France, Claudette, an aspiring cellist, brings in an autograph of her hero, a famous cello player. In response, Mademoiselle Dupont, her inspired and inspiring teacher, has all the children bring in (faux) autographs of their heroes, as a prism through which to see history. It’s a sweet story that’s both gently humorous and lightly touching. The second story, which the reader knows is supposed to be lighthearted and adorable, is instead troubling. In a bow to modernity, a tiny two-classroom school in France gets a phone and a fax machine that is set up in the principal/teacher’s classroom. Her boyfriend immediately begins calling and faxing, declaring his love vociferously throughout the school day and the days that follow, annoying the teacher and distracting the students. Although it ends happily for the teacher (after a brief breakup she decides to marry her boyfriend), to American eyes, he comes off like a slightly crazed stalker rather than a charming and benign lover. (Short stories. 9-12)
Pub Date: July 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-670-06022-4
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Sixth-grader Eddie Zitelli desperately hopes to survive the end of school with grades and self-esteem intact, but sheer absent- mindedness lands him in the principal's office. Life at home isn't much better, especially after Pop, his ailing grandfather, moves in to share his room. Over the summer, Eddie realizes that Pop plans to gamble both his health and his life savings on an illegal horse race so that he can move back home to live alone again. When Pop leaves to place his bet, Eddie must decide what to do; and though Pop's victory proves fatal, Eddie knows that he's made the right decision and that, through Pop's quest for autonomy, he himself has also become more autonomous. The issues raised by some of Eddie's decision-making (e.g., not telling his parents about a crucial phone call from Pop) merit more thoughtful exploration than they get here; and until the narrative focuses on Eddie and Pop, the characters and plot feel manufactured, while the writing's burdened with forced similes. Still, Stevens does convey the struggle for self in both young and old. Acceptable additional fare. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-689-31682-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Using color photos of modern reenactments, plus a well- organized commentary enlivened by historical detail, the author/photographer of The Battle of Gettysburg (1989) re-creates the ``shot heard `round the world'' and the rest of the Revolutionary War's opening engagement. A few moot statements aside (``This would be a war like no other: one fought for political reasons''), Johnson's account is carefully researched; briefly, he sets the scene, describing both the events of the day and the circumstances behind them and closing with a summary of the immediate aftermath and an extract from the Declaration of Independence. A colorful replacement for R. Conrad Stein's Story of Lexington and Concord (1983). Multilevel bibliography. (Nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 31, 1992
ISBN: 0-02-747841-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Four Winds/MacMillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1992
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