This concluding volume in an interesting concept series is strengthened by colorful characters. (Fiction. 8-11)
Norris’ obnoxious, bullying behavior makes Ferguson just want to “spit feathers” in this conclusion to the Lobster Chronicles trilogy.
Problems with Norris aren’t the whole story however. Geared for emerging chapter-book readers, like the preceding two works (Lower the Trap, 2012; A Narrow Escape, 2013), the same tale is presented again from yet another point of view. While the other two were more focused on Norris’ effect on his classmates, in this story, his cheating and bullying recede against sensitive Ferguson’s struggle to discover anything that could provide his beloved grandfather with a legacy of his life as a lobsterman. That a giant lobster has been trapped and will be auctioned to the highest bidder is still an important piece of this book’s plot. Ferguson thinks that winning and then freeing the lobster might provide a legacy for his grandfather, but, satisfyingly, the older man has a better plan. Readers will recognize that in his worries about his grandfather, Ferguson seems to have unfortunately distanced himself from both his siblings and his peers. Since his classmates are only tangentially involved in this effort, references to issues that previously dominated the shared tale now seem somewhat superfluous. Although this effort could stand alone, Norris’ redemptive behavior at the climax can only be understood by reading the rest of the trilogy.
This concluding volume in an interesting concept series is strengthened by colorful characters. (Fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55453-708-2
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet!
Ryan Hart is navigating the fourth grade and all its challenges with determination.
Her mom named her Ryan because it means “king,” and she wanted Ryan to feel powerful every time she heard her name; Ryan knows it means she is a leader. So when changes occur or disaster strikes, budding chef Ryan does her best to find the positive and “make sunshine.” When her dad is laid off from the post office, the family must make adjustments that include moving into a smaller house, selling their car, and changing how they shop for groceries. But Ryan gets to stay at Vernon Elementary, and her mom still finds a way to get her the ingredients she needs to practice new recipes. Her older brother, Ray, can be bossy, but he finds little ways to support her, especially when she is down—as does the whole family. Each episodic chapter confronts Ryan with a situation; intermittently funny, frustrating, and touching, they should be familiar and accessible to readers, as when Ryan fumbles her Easter speech despite careful practice. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and Watson continues to bring visibility to both Portland, Oregon, generally and its Black community specifically, making another wonderful contribution that allows Black readers to see themselves and all readers to find a character they can love.
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet! (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
The journey is even gently funny—Omakayas’s brother spends much of the year with a porcupine on his head. Charming and...
This third entry in the Birchbark House series takes Omakayas and her family west from their home on the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker, away from land the U.S. government has claimed.
Difficulties abound; the unknown landscape is fraught with danger, and they are nearing hostile Bwaanag territory. Omakayas’s family is not only close, but growing: The travelers adopt two young chimookoman (white) orphans along the way. When treachery leaves them starving and alone in a northern Minnesota winter, it will take all of their abilities and love to survive. The heartwarming account of Omakayas’s year of travel explores her changing family relationships and culminates in her first moon, the onset of puberty. It would be understandable if this darkest-yet entry in Erdrich’s response to the Little House books were touched by bitterness, yet this gladdening story details Omakayas’s coming-of-age with appealing optimism.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-06-029787-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2008
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