An emotionally intelligent preteen summer camp adventure.
Rising seventh grader Beatrice prefers to spend time in her room talking to her stuffed animals, especially her favorite one, a rabbit named Roger.
So, when Bea’s father tells her he’s signed her up for a weeklong summer camp, that’s the last thing she wants to do. After her dad promises that if she agrees to go just this once, she’ll never have to go back, she reluctantly agrees. When Bea arrives at Camp Chordata, she meets her “nest mates,” Virginia and Roxy. Virginia notices Bea holding Roger and snidely asks, “Aren’t we a little old to carry around stuffed animals?” She adds, “You will be judged for carrying that around.” Unfortunately, Virginia is proven to be right, but a cute boy stands up for her. Over the course of the week, the girls struggle with learning to be friends as each battles personal problems. The narrative moves quickly, but Montague delves effectively into a range of topics such as jealousy, bullying, insecurity, and divorce. The story offers readers a thoughtful perspective on how you never know exactly what someone might be dealing with based on outward appearances. All three girls have brown skin; Bea has curly brown hair, Virginia (whose skin tone is darkest) has red hair, and Roxy (whose skin is slightly lighter) is blond. The clean, simply drawn panels and warm pastel colors effectively evoke the outdoor summer setting.
An emotionally intelligent preteen summer camp adventure. (drawing guide) (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9780593806234
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
A real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
