Surreal but fascinating, visually jazzy but conceptually cryptic, this will work for older readers who like primary colors,...
A red-hoodie–sporting, upright-standing bird (or possibly weasel) named Coppernickel (Coppernickel: The Invention, 2008) and his diminutive pet dog follow artist Piet Mondrian though a progression of changes in their setting, time period and bodies.
Quickstep (aka Mondrian), who has a full beak and approximates an upright-standing bird more than Coppernickel does, “is looking for the future.” Coppernickel presumes that “If you just wait, the future will arrive anyway,” but Quickstep disagrees: “[I]f we stand around waiting, nothing will change…. Things will only get older. I’m looking for the new.” Quickstep’s dog can “smell the future” and they’re off. Left-hand trees mimic Mondrian’s early organic naturalism; as Coppernickel (pursuing Quickstep) traverses a horizontal landscape scroll, the trees shift subtly into roadside telegraph poles—or late-Mondrian grid-style trees. Coppernickel reaches a packed, bustling city. Gorgeous tiny rectangles tile the subway as Mondrian’s famous primary colors and grid patterns begin to dominate. Composition varies dynamically; the scene moves from city blocks to Mondrian’s spare 1940s apartment. Music emerges from a turntable in lively primary-colored rectangles, becoming Mondrian’s famous painting Victory Boogie Woogie, and even the four characters end up geometrically stylized.
Surreal but fascinating, visually jazzy but conceptually cryptic, this will work for older readers who like primary colors, geometric art or the philosophical notion of the future. (author’s note) (Picture book/art. 7–10)Pub Date: May 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59270-119-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.
Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.
Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-448-48239-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Trisha is ready to start at a new school, where no one will know she has dyslexia. At first, she is heartbroken to be in Miss Peterson’s special-ed class, aka, “the junkyard.” But Miss Peterson treats the children as anything but junk, showing them that everyone has a unique talent. Polacco’s trademark style is fully present here; her sensitively drawn alter ego shines with depth of feeling. When bullying occurs, Miss Peterson proves her students are worthwhile by planning a junkyard field trip, where they find valuable objects to be used in exciting ways. Trisha’s group repairs a plane, and the class buys an engine for it. Then a beloved class member dies, and the children must find a way to honor him. While the plot meanders somewhat, the characters are appealing, believable and provide a fine portrayal of a truly special class. Children will be drawn in by the story’s warmth and gentle humor and will leave with a spark of inspiration, an appreciation of individual differences and a firm anti-bullying message, all underscored by the author’s note that concludes the book. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-25078-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
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