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UP TO NEW TRICKS

Name: UP TO NEW TRICKS
Author: Victoria J. Coe
ISBN: 978-1-5247-3783-2

From the Fenway and Hattie series , Vol. 3

by Victoria J. Coe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 2, 2018

Those who have enjoyed Fenway’s necessarily narrow doggy point of view will no doubt savor another outing.

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Fenway, Hattie’s exuberant Jack Russell terrier, is back for another (mis)adventure. This time the pup gets a bee sting on the paw.

Somewhat improbably, Fenway then is hauled to the veterinary clinic, where the vet, who reeks of cinnamon and animals’ fear, anesthetizes him. When Fenway awakens, he’s wearing the ever so annoying Cone of Doom, an oversized, rigid plastic collar that keeps him from licking his stung and very itchy paw. Meanwhile, Hattie is working hard on learning some magic tricks before her grandmother comes for a visit, a slight secondary storyline. After the two previous Fenway and Hattie tales, the trope is well-worn, if not a bit frayed. Fenway’s narrative point of view is very, very doggy, and that’s the running joke. In spite of veterinary attention, his paw becomes infected, and that necessitates yet another visit to the scary doctor and orders to “Soke-it,” which turns out to be almost worse than the dreaded bath, one of Fenway’s lurking background fears. Perhaps even more unfortunate is the fact that beloved Hattie (whom Fenway never describes) is the one who turns Fenway over to the vet and who keeps torturing him with paw soaks. Naturally, though, Fenway and Hattie sort things out and all ends well.

Those who have enjoyed Fenway’s necessarily narrow doggy point of view will no doubt savor another outing. (Fiction. 8-10)

Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5247-3783-2

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
FENWAY AND HATTIE AND THE EVIL BUNNY GANG
by Victoria J. Coe ; illustrated by Kristine Lombardi

- BOOK REVIEW
FENWAY AND HATTIE
by Victoria J. Coe

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WAYS TO GROW LOVE

From the Ryan Hart series , Vol. 2

by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Niña Mata ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 27, 2021

The second installment in this spirited series is a hit.

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A new baby coming means Ryan has lots of opportunities to grow love.

Ryan has so much to look forward to this summer—she is going to be a big sister, and she finally gets to go to church camp! But new adventures bring challenges, too. Ryan feels like the baby is taking forever to arrive, and with Mom on bed rest, she isn’t able to participate in the family’s typical summer activities. Ryan’s Dad is still working the late shift, which means he gets home and goes to bed when she and her older brother, Ray, are waking up, so their quality daddy-daughter time is limited to one day a week. When the time for camp finally arrives, Ryan is so worried about bugs, ghosts, and sharing a cabin that she wonders if she should go at all. Watson’s heroine is smart and courageous, bringing her optimistic attitude to any challenge she faces. Hard topics like family finances and complex relationships with friends are discussed in an age-appropriate way. Watson continues to excel at crafting a sense of place; she transports readers to Portland, Oregon, with an attention to detail that can only come from someone who has loved that city. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and occasional illustrations by Mata spotlight their joy and make this book shine.

The second installment in this spirited series is a hit. (Fiction. 8-10)

Pub Date: April 27, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0058-8

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
BLACK GIRL YOU ARE ATLAS
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Ekua Holmes

- BOOK REVIEW
WAYS TO SHARE JOY
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Andrew Grey

- BOOK REVIEW
MAYA’S SONG
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Bryan Collier

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THE LEMONADE CRIME

From the Lemonade War series , Vol. 2

by Jacqueline Davies ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2011

Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage...

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This sequel to The Lemonade War (2007), picking up just a few days later, focuses on how the fourth graders take justice into their own hands after learning that the main suspect in the case of the missing lemonade-stand money now owns the latest in game-box technology.

Siblings Evan and Jessie (who skipped third grade because of her precocity) are sure Scott Spencer stole the $208 from Evan’s shorts and want revenge, especially as Scott’s new toy makes him the most popular kid in class, despite his personal shortcomings. Jessie’s solution is to orchestrate a full-blown trial by jury after school, while Evan prefers to challenge Scott in basketball. Neither channel proves satisfactory for the two protagonists (whose rational and emotional reactions are followed throughout the third-person narrative), though, ultimately, the matter is resolved. Set during the week of Yom Kippur, the story raises beginning questions of fairness, integrity, sin and atonement. Like John Grisham's Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer (2010), much of the book is taken up with introducing courtroom proceedings for a fourth-grade level of understanding. Chapter headings provide definitions (“due diligence,” “circumstantial evidence,” etc.) and explanation cards/documents drawn by Jessie are interspersed.

Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage with the characters enough to care about how the justice actually pans out. (Fiction. 8-10)