Unassuming prose does the trick for this sad and funny tale with a warm ending. (Fiction. 8-10)
A family struggles to get back on track after a bereavement.
“Monday—149 days since Mammy died,” heads chapter one, conveying the shape of Mimi’s world. Mimi walks through her days leaning on routine: “Monday is Granny’s day,” when she visits Granny and Grandad after school; Tuesday it’s one aunt, Wednesday another. Older siblings Sally and Conor meet her there, and they converge back at home for the evening, where Dad nightly burns a pizza that Mimi tosses to the dog. Grieving dysfunctionally, Dad barely registers his kids besides scorching supper for them. Mimi does no homework; tooth-brushing is ignored. Newman’s simple, uncluttered narration skillfully reports action more than emotion, even when the action is crying. Buoying the vibe is ongoing humor—would a goth kid enjoy burnt food because it’s black? Why is the pregnant teacher having “contraptions” in class? Mimi seeks connection to Sally via reading Sally’s hidden diary, which Sally accusingly addresses to a certain younger-sister spy. Missing Mammy (and Dad, although he’s right there), Mimi confronts a school bully and processes her own wish “that I hadn’t gotten slanty eyes.” However, readers are secure that this extended Irish family considers (adopted, Chinese) Mimi to be 100% their own beloved girl.
Unassuming prose does the trick for this sad and funny tale with a warm ending. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5415-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to...
A group of talking farm animals catches wind of the farm owner’s intention to burn the barn (with them in it) for insurance money and hatches a plan to flee.
Bond begins briskly—within the first 10 pages, barn cat Burdock has overheard Dewey Baxter’s nefarious plan, and by Page 17, all of the farm animals have been introduced and Burdock is sharing the terrifying news. Grady, Dewey’s (ever-so-slightly) more principled brother, refuses to go along, but instead of standing his ground, he simply disappears. This leaves the animals to fend for themselves. They do so by relying on their individual strengths and one another. Their talents and personalities match their species, bringing an element of realism to balance the fantasy elements. However, nothing can truly compensate for the bland horror of the premise. Not the growing sense of family among the animals, the serendipitous intervention of an unknown inhabitant of the barn, nor the convenient discovery of an alternate home. Meanwhile, Bond’s black-and-white drawings, justly compared to those of Garth Williams, amplify the sense of dissonance. Charming vignettes and single- and double-page illustrations create a pastoral world into which the threat of large-scale violence comes as a shock.
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to ponder the awkward coincidences that propel the plot. (Animal fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-33217-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage...
This sequel to The Lemonade War (2007), picking up just a few days later, focuses on how the fourth graders take justice into their own hands after learning that the main suspect in the case of the missing lemonade-stand money now owns the latest in game-box technology.
Siblings Evan and Jessie (who skipped third grade because of her precocity) are sure Scott Spencer stole the $208 from Evan’s shorts and want revenge, especially as Scott’s new toy makes him the most popular kid in class, despite his personal shortcomings. Jessie’s solution is to orchestrate a full-blown trial by jury after school, while Evan prefers to challenge Scott in basketball. Neither channel proves satisfactory for the two protagonists (whose rational and emotional reactions are followed throughout the third-person narrative), though, ultimately, the matter is resolved. Set during the week of Yom Kippur, the story raises beginning questions of fairness, integrity, sin and atonement. Like John Grisham's Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer (2010), much of the book is taken up with introducing courtroom proceedings for a fourth-grade level of understanding. Chapter headings provide definitions (“due diligence,” “circumstantial evidence,” etc.) and explanation cards/documents drawn by Jessie are interspersed.
Readers will enjoy this sequel from a plot perspective and will learn how to play-act a trial, though they may not engage with the characters enough to care about how the justice actually pans out. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: May 2, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-27967-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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