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A GUARD DOG NAMED HONEY

Name: A GUARD DOG NAMED HONEY
Author: Denise Gosliner Orenstein
ISBN: 978-1-338-34846-0

by Denise Gosliner Orenstein ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2020

Richly engaging and evocative.

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Bean’s determined to raise the money to bail her beloved older brother, Willis, out of jail, but her schemes seem doomed to failure.

On this island off the coast of Massachusetts, the opportunities to raise $1,000 in bail money are seriously limited. But plucky Bean is determined to find a way. It’s that mission that motivates her to befriend 9-year-old Phoebe. She’s been left by her wealthy but distant parents in the care of the unusual chef-turned-nanny Edwin and, more importantly, Honey, a huge young mastiff. Initially, Bean is skeptical of the whole crew, merely currying their favor in order to make money by—she hopes—painting their house. Unexpectedly, Phoebe and Honey take up the slack for the 11-year-old, who is bereft without Willis. Although Bean talks Phoebe into agreeing to sell Honey, she quickly has sobering second thoughts. After Bean realizes the prospective buyer is involved in the dogfighting world, the two girls, full of spunk but a little short of wisdom, resolve to bring the bad guy to justice. The apparently white characters are lovingly crafted and richly nuanced, although drooly, ever loyal Honey almost steals the show. Bean’s motivation is fully convincing, and her heartfelt but somewhat scatterbrained plans are age appropriate as she tries to fix too many hard issues with a believable lack of adult help.

Richly engaging and evocative. (Fiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: March 3, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-338-34846-0

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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by Denise Gosliner Orenstein

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THE LION OF LARK-HAYES MANOR

by Aubrey Hartman ; illustrated by Christopher Cyr ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2023

A pleasing premise for book lovers.

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A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.

When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)

A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Pub Date: May 2, 2023

ISBN: 9780316448222

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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TUCK EVERLASTING

by Natalie Babbitt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1975

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...

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At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.

Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the first week in August when this takes place to "the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning") help to justify the extravagant early assertion that had the secret about to be revealed been known at the time of the action, the very earth "would have trembled on its axis like a beetle on a pin." (Fantasy. 9-11)