Next book

BELLA BAXTER AND THE ITCHY DISASTER

Life is busy for Bella Baxter at the Sea Inn, where the guests come first. That means Bella straightens the newspapers, stacks the dishes, wipes the tables, strips the sheets off the beds and prepares for each guest. Bella loves to meet with Trudy, the local librarian and handywoman, and research the best way to make the new guests welcome. And now, Dr. Frederick Fauna, the famous botanist, is arriving from England. Bella is on the case. Trudy is usually happy to help with research, but she is busy with a little project of her own: She is the proud mother of 25 baby chicks. In between caring for the chicks and learning about native plants, Bella happily prepares Dr. Fauna’s room for arrival, filling it with flowers and even sprinkling beautiful leaves onto his bedspread. But something is wrong. A little itchiness on her arms and legs is easy to ignore in all the preparations, but soon the itchiness grows and Bella and Trudy discover the truth about those lovely three-leaved plants she has spread all over the guest bed. Jolly ink illustrations, generous white space and font and humorous, but predictable story line make this a fine choice for new chapter-book readers. (Fiction. 6-9)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2005

ISBN: 0-689-86281-4

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Aladdin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2005

Next book

GOONEY BIRD GREENE

Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class announcing: “I’m your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything.” Everything about her is unusual and mysterious—her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince’s palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are “absolutely true.” Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher’s lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of “how a story is made” titles. Gooney Bird’s stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children’s fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-618-23848-4

Page Count: 96

Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002

Next book

RIVER STORY

Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)

Pub Date: June 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000

Close Quickview