Myers' third fine book this year—unlike Fallen Angels (p. 696/C- 114) and Scorpions (p. 764/C-126)—is relatively light-hearted, involving kids playing Little League baseball near Jersey City, N.J. Still—though the exciting play-by-play games will satisfy sports buffs—narrator T.J. tells more than a baseball story. He and his younger brother, "Moondance," adopted only six months ago, are not yet at ease with their new parents, especially Dad—who played pro ball and is oblivious to the pain T.J. feels at his own inadequecies. Their friend "Mop" is still at the Catholic orphanage, but will be adopted at book's end by their coach, Marla; Mop and Marla's growing affection is one of the book's many deftly portrayed interactions. Moondance has the makings of a fine pitcher; even T.J. improves sufficiently to win Dad's approbation, with the help of some neatly sketched minor characters: Sister Carmelita, a young nun who's often in trouble; Peaches, a derelict with heart. The rival team, a bunch of heckling poor sports, is led by a coach whose unfair tactics include getting a man from Child Welfare to remove Mop as catcher in the middle of a championship game because she's a girl—a telling analogy to the proverbial politics of Jersey City. Much is conveyed here by few words: Myers makes every bit of dialogue reveal character, every action count. There are nifty vignettes: an old nun taking a losing team out for pizza and comforting them with the agony of St. Sebastian; T.J. rescuing Moondance's old toy bear from the toilet it's accidentally clogging. Some of these people are black, some white; if anyone needs to know, the illustrations reveal which are which. An easily enjoyed story, yet thoughtful, perceptive, and possessing real depth.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1988
ISBN: 0440403960
Page Count: -
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1988
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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