A boy who dreams of having a luxury department store at his disposal discovers that the dream is more real than the store; a boy who resents his father's fondness for lame ducks and casual living decides that rebellion is "a doorway and not a destination": one boy, two variously likely stories, a dubious connection. Alcott-Simpson's is fourteen-year-old Dion's separate world; when strange things begin happening—a pet shop lizard in the dressing room, a toy galleon in the goldfish pool, a young girl who appears and disappears wearing "borrowed" finery—his curiosity takes him to Madame Stregovitch, in Cosmetics, who warns him not to ask too many questions. Why is somehow related to the girl. Sara—she haunts the store with "the others" and soon, half-child and half-woman, haunts him. Then there's the apartment he shares with his father and the college boys from upstairs and the children from downstairs and Dad's music students—all of them owe Dad money, and meals are mostly communal spaghetti, and some day Dion will leave it all for a job at Alcott-Simpson's. Except that the store, deserted by its frightened staff, closes....Sara is Rima in Courregos boots and Madame Stregovitch is a benevolent Rasputin—it was she who, by her psychic powers, summoned Sara and the other spirits of starving children to share the largesse; but Alton's Simpson's is just right and so is the sparring between Dion and his Dad. Probably this will get across to girls more readily than to boys because they want to believe; underneath there is something to believe in.
Pub Date: March 20, 1968
ISBN: 0440400600
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1968
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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