Still meeting in a mall while their school is being repaired (see Hobie Hanson: Greatest Hero of the Mall, 1989), Hobie's class learns about conflict resolution and has some novel interactions with an old-fashioned Santa. Hobie and best-friend Nick are seriously at odds: while procrastinating over his homework (the human skeleton), Hobie has not only inadvertently caused an embarrassing injury to Nick's nose with a trick snake but has laughed at Nick afterwards. Hobie believes that Nick has retaliated by shoving him down the escalator with Mort, a life-size plastic skeleton. Egged on by less-than-truthful classmates, they meet to fightonly to be forcibly separated by Molly. Authority's subsequent intervention is structured: two kids who've just finished a course in mediation are assigned to run through their new skills with the three combatants, who come out with both new insights and a model signed contract (included); most interestingly, Molly learns that aggressive intervention may not be constructive. With her usual stock of wordplay and funny situations, Gilson conveys her lesson with a light touch, deftly meshing it with a subplot concerning a kindly Santa who is uncomfortable with the new generation's style but learns that ``Kids will [still] be kids.'' Good fun; thought-provoking; sure-fire jacket. (Fiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: April 22, 1991
ISBN: 0-688-10098-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1991
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The book is a cute, but rather standard offering from Avi (Tom, Babette, and Simon, p. 776, etc.).
An adolescent mouse named Poppy is off on a romantic tryst with her rebel boyfriend when they are attacked by Mr. Ocax, the owl who rules over the area.
He kills the boyfriend, but Poppy escapes and Mr. Ocax vows to catch her. Mr. Ocax has convinced all the mice that he is their protector when, in fact, he preys on them mercilessly. When the mice ask his permission to move to a new house, he refuses, blaming Poppy for his decision. Poppy suspects that there is another reason Mr. Ocax doesn't want them to move and investigates to clear her name. With the help of a prickly old porcupine and her quick wits, Poppy defeats her nemesis and her own fears, saving her family in the bargain.
The book is a cute, but rather standard offering from Avi (Tom, Babette, and Simon, p. 776, etc.). (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-531-09483-9
Page Count: 147
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1995
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