Banks’s erstwhile hero Howie returns, and this time he’s in hot water with Uncle Sam and the IRS. It’s a case of mistaken identity plus a dose of math-phobia, compounded by a pessimistic outlook, that adds up to a rib-tickling tale. The dispiriting revelation that he was born on Friday the Thirteenth leads Howie to conclude that, being predestined for a lifetime of bad luck, any attempt to overcome his math difficulties would be a fruitless endeavor. In this lugubrious state of mind, Howie receives a letter from the IRS declaring he made a calculation error and owes Uncle Sam over 100 dollars. The fine print threatening “penalty and imprisonment” looms large, so Howie frantically concocts various schemes to come up with the money. Intertwined with the main plot are amusing scenes from Howie’s home and school life; in the midst of his IRS-induced frenzy, Howie must cope with his new baby sister, plummeting math grades, and a whole host of situations that are sure to resonate with fellow school-age readers. Millman’s humorous, full-page, black-and-white drawings are liberally interspersed throughout. Brief chapters populated with likable characters make this an engaging follow-up to Howie Bowles, Secret Agent (1999). There are plenty of math jokes, both subtle and unrepentantly corny, included in the text and illustrations to keep readers laughing while they learn, along with Howie, the monumental importance of minding your numbers. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2000
ISBN: 0-374-35116-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000
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
Nolen and Nelson offer a smaller, but no less gifted counterpart to Big Jabe (2000) in this new tall tale. Shortly after being born one stormy night, Rose thanks her parents, picks a name, and gathers lightning into a ball—all of which is only a harbinger of feats to come. Decked out in full cowboy gear and oozing self-confidence from every pore, Rose cuts a diminutive, but heroic figure in Nelson’s big, broad Western scenes. Though she carries a twisted iron rod as dark as her skin and ropes clouds with fencing wire, Rose overcomes her greatest challenge—a pair of rampaging twisters—not with strength, but with a lullaby her parents sang. After turning tornadoes into much-needed rain clouds, Rose rides away, “that mighty, mighty song pressing on the bull’s-eye that was set at the center of her heart.” Throughout, she shows a reflective bent that gives her more dimension than most tall-tale heroes: a doff of the Stetson to her and her creators. (author’s note) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-15-216472-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Whistle/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003
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