A gentle portrayal of a canine protagonist adjusting to a new role.
A working farm dog and an anxious boy become best friends.
Gus is a livestock guardian dog who excels at protecting the sheep. A Great Pyrenees (illustrated as a massive, fluffy sweetheart), he’s lived outdoors his whole life, unlike the farm’s other dogs. He’s fond of “boss lady” Esperanza and her daughter, Cloe, and the other canines, including Stella, a service dog who alerts Cloe to seizures (and the protagonist of Stella, 2021). Gus, however, is a working dog at his very core. When a bear attacks, Gus is there—and when he leaps into the fray to protect one of the other dogs, he is gravely injured. The hardworking dog can’t bear being indoors as he heals and is comforted only by Diego, Cloe’s shy, soft-spoken cousin. Through Gus’ lightly anthropomorphized thoughts (he carefully reports all human conversations he hears despite not necessarily understanding everything), Diego’s overwhelming anxiety is apparent but is eased through his bond with Gus, and soon the dog realizes he has a new purpose as an emotional support animal for Diego. This is a comforting, quiet tale of a working dog slowly transitioning into a new life. Featuring a lovable animal protagonist, a relatable and persistent child trainer, and dog-training information, it’s a compelling read. Gus doesn’t report much on dog-irrelevant details like human appearance, though he’s very invested in the taste of ice cream, but his reports of conversations cue his human family as being Latine.
A gentle portrayal of a canine protagonist adjusting to a new role. (discussion questions) (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-63993-093-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 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.
