LOST AND FOUND

Name: LOST AND FOUND
Author: Bill Harley
ISBN: 978-1-56145-628-4

by Bill Harley & illustrated by Adam Gustavson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2012

Within this child’s view of the world, full of questions and pressure and misunderstanding, wisdom comes—sometimes from the...

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Storyteller Harley embodies a child's fears with humor and sympathy.

Justin has lost his favorite hat, the one his grandmother made for him. His mother pesters him to find it before grandmother visits on the weekend. After an exhaustive search, the last place to look is the dreaded Lost and Found. Justin’s friend Devaun already lost his baseball jacket and was too afraid to go see Mr. Rumkowsky, the ancient custodian and keeper of the massive pile of lost belongings. With stifling tension, Harley has found the perfect emotional pitch to explore such universal childhood fears as visiting mysterious corners of the school or facing a terrifying adult. This story captures the essence of a brave child who confronts Authority. Not surprisingly, Mr. Rumkowsky is much kinder than he looks, but his gigantic box harbors much that is unsuspected. Harley’s view of the elementary-school world succeeds in making Justin's fanciful experience palpably real. Gustavson enhances the dramatic mood with realistic double-page spreads that artfully use a child's-eye perspective. The word “CAUTION” blazes from a cleaning bucket. There are endless locks on the janitor’s door. Leaves scatter everywhere, just like a young boy’s belongings.

Within this child’s view of the world, full of questions and pressure and misunderstanding, wisdom comes—sometimes from the unlikeliest places. (Picture book. 5-9)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-56145-628-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Peachtree

Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
WINK
edited by Henry Herz ; illustrated by Adam Gustavson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FROGGIES DO NOT WANT TO SLEEP
by Adam Gustavson ; illustrated by Adam Gustavson

- BOOK REVIEW
FLIP!
by Margaret Muirhead ; illustrated by Adam Gustavson

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TALES FOR VERY PICKY EATERS

by Josh Schneider & illustrated by Josh Schneider ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
ULTRABOT'S FIRST PLAYDATE
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

- BOOK REVIEW
KID AMAZING VS. THE BLOB
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERYBODY SLEEPS (BUT NOT FRED)
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

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STINK AND THE MIDNIGHT ZOMBIE WALK

From the Stink series

by Megan McDonald & illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2012

This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the...

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An all-zombie-all-the-time zombiefest, featuring a bunch of grade-school kids, including protagonist Stink and his happy comrades.

This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the streets in the time-honored stiff-armed, stiff-legged fashion. McDonald signals her intent on page one: “Stink and Webster were playing Attack of the Knitting Needle Zombies when Fred Zombie’s eye fell off and rolled across the floor.” The farce is as broad as the Atlantic, with enough spookiness just below the surface to provide the all-important shivers. Accompanied by Reynolds’ drawings—dozens of scene-setting gems with good, creepy living dead—McDonald shapes chapters around zombie motifs: making zombie costumes, eating zombie fare at school, reading zombie books each other to reach the one-million-minutes-of-reading challenge. When the zombie walk happens, it delivers solid zombie awfulness. McDonald’s feel-good tone is deeply encouraging for readers to get up and do this for themselves because it looks like so much darned fun, while the sub-message—that reading grows “strong hearts and minds,” as well as teeth and bones—is enough of a vital interest to the story line to be taken at face value.