Fifth-grade narrator Ritchie Willis tells about the time in 1939 when his mother was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown, his little sister, Rosie, was sick at home with fever, and he himself was terrorized by the school bully and ignored by his cold father. Much of the responsibility for the house and Rosie fell on Ritchie's small shoulders: Every day after school he had to come straight home to look after Rosie and warm supper for his father. One day, however, he sees his reclusive cellist neighbor's dog dead on the road. He goes to tell Thad Grailowsky about his dog, and the two become friends. Ritchie confides in Mr. Grailowsky, talking to him about his mother's absence and Rosie's illness. He also tells him about Rosie's fantasy of a troll living under Mr. Grailowsky's bridge. Suddenly, letters start coming to the house for Rosie from the troll, named pod (spelled the same right side up and upside down). These letters keep Rosie's spirits up, and even Ritchie begins believing in pod's existence. Taking courage from the little troll, Ritchie faces his fears and triumphs over them. His mother comes home and Rosie gets well, but Mr. Grailowsky leaves to join the Canadian army to fight in WW II. Pod's letters become postcards from abroad and then cease entirely—and Thad Grailowsky is reported missing in action. After the war, Rosie receives a final postcard from pod, ``We Won.'' Ritchie then realizes that Mr. Grailowsky will come home one day. McKenzie's (A Bowl of Mischief, 1992, etc.) story is heartwarming, but the reader won't understand why it takes Ritchie so long to figure out the troll's achingly obvious identity. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-8050-2614-2
Page Count: 140
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1994
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BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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BOOK REVIEW
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