A heartfelt but underdeveloped early chapter book for budding entomologists.
A young girl conquers her fears with the help of her grandfather and his beehives in Jennings’ debut work of fiction.
Sophie Moon loves to visit her grandpa in his rural cabin, where, one spring, he has a surprise for her: He’s going to start cultivating honeybees. It’s not the puppy Sophie was hoping for, but she’s excited to learn about these fascinating insects and writes down facts in her special Doodle Notes book (excerpts of which readers get to see at the top of each chapter). As the two work together to prepare the bees’ new home, Sophie reveals that she wants to make a presentation at school about this new adventure, yet she’s afraid of public speaking. She’s also nervous about returning to class to face the enigmatic new girl who is ignored by the other kids. “‘Why don’t we suit up and whisper to the bees. They’ll hear you and mayhap give you advice,’ [Grandpa] said smiling.” When Sophie returns to visit her grandpa in the summer, she brings her new friend and classmate, Catalina, whose own life is made difficult by her mother’s abusive boyfriend. Over the course of two more seasons, Sophie’s relationships and fears ebb and flow, but she’s always able to turn to the bees for advice. While Sophie’s trajectory toward fostering interpersonal trust and self-confidence is clear, the characters around her don’t see similar development over the course of the story. However, while the human characters may be lacking, the bees are an excellent vehicle for personal growth, and the facts contained in the Doodle Notes, though unsupported by a bibliography, are interesting and educational. Jennings’ chapter book is unfortunately light on details about its human characters; it includes no information on Sophie’s age or appearance and has no illustrations, despite their appropriateness for audiences at this reading level.
A heartfelt but underdeveloped early chapter book for budding entomologists.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 30, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© 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.
