More than a little reminiscent of The Little Prince, with a touch of Louis Slobodkin’s classic Space Ship Under the Apple Tree, this is a dialogue between a visitor from space and an eight-year-old boy waiting at home while his mother is in the hospital giving birth; it links informal ink drawings with a series of ingenuous philosophical ruminations and explanations of natural processes. Joe is alone when a flash of light leaves Mika, a diminutive Mumbo from planet Eljo, hanging by his heels in the apple tree. Very like a toddler in appearance, clothing (pajamas), and habit of sucking his thumb when thinking, Mika views the world with wide-eyed wonder, asking deceptively simple questions (“If [a cat] can’t talk, does that mean it can’t think?”), learning from Joe about dinosaurs, fish, and the history of life on Earth, teaching him that nothing is “ordinary,” and that there are great forces at work in the universe. The illustrator places small human, alien, and animal figures on the surfaces of tiny worlds, or within and around lines of text; Mika and Joe sit cozily together on rock and rooftop, until Mika is replaced at the end by Michael, Joe’s new brother. Gaarder (Sophie’s World, 1994) keeps the tone light, but brings up plenty of worthwhile, often knotty ideas. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-374-32948-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1998
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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