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ALL IN THE BLUE UNCLOUDED WEATHER

Name: ALL IN THE BLUE UNCLOUDED WEATHER
Author: Robin Klein
ISBN: 0-670-83909-4

by Robin Klein ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1992

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The gifted author of Hating Alison Ashley (1985) makes a bow to Little Women in an incisive, often hilarious portrait of four sisters growing up in the Australia of the late 1940's, with both parallels and contrasts to Alcott's novel enriching her story. Like the Marches', the Mellings' poverty is a factor in their struggles to make do and to get along with their peers; Klein, too, reveals much through episodes focused on each of the girls. The Mellings, whose improvident father's behavior (attributed to WW I experiences) is bizarre and whose mother is lost in writing some sadly uninspired verse, are near the bottom of the scale—of which they are painfully aware. But though most of their attempts to be included with their social betters are doomed to failure, they are vital and imaginative, irrepressibly occupied with outrageous pranks, repartee, and rivalries— especially among themselves. Grace, Heather, Cathy, and Vivienne are distinctive and memorable; and, while their down-under vocabulary may give some readers pause, it's an integral part of the strongly evoked setting and often self-explanatory. The girls' rowdy in-fighting is fierce—exaggerated for humor but authentic; it also provides a foil for some touching final scenes that reveal their underlying loyalty and affection. And though much of the narrative is farcical and the episodic structure leaves some loose ends, it all adds up to a gritty, intriguing glimpse of a particular time and place. (Fiction. 11-15)

Pub Date: March 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-670-83909-4

Page Count: 162

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1992

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SKY IN SILVER LACE
by Robin Klein

- BOOK REVIEW
SEEING THINGS
by Robin Klein

- BOOK REVIEW
DRESSES OF RED AND GOLD
by Robin Klein

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A YEAR DOWN YONDER

From the Grandma Dowdel series , Vol. 2

by Richard Peck ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2000

Year-round fun.

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Set in 1937 during the so-called “Roosevelt recession,” tight times compel Mary Alice, a Chicago girl, to move in with her grandmother, who lives in a tiny Illinois town so behind the times that it doesn’t “even have a picture show.”

This winning sequel takes place several years after A Long Way From Chicago (1998) leaves off, once again introducing the reader to Mary Alice, now 15, and her Grandma Dowdel, an indomitable, idiosyncratic woman who despite her hard-as-nails exterior is able to see her granddaughter with “eyes in the back of her heart.” Peck’s slice-of-life novel doesn’t have much in the way of a sustained plot; it could almost be a series of short stories strung together, but the narrative never flags, and the book, populated with distinctive, soulful characters who run the gamut from crazy to conventional, holds the reader’s interest throughout. And the vignettes, some involving a persnickety Grandma acting nasty while accomplishing a kindness, others in which she deflates an overblown ego or deals with a petty rivalry, are original and wildly funny. The arena may be a small hick town, but the battle for domination over that tiny turf is fierce, and Grandma Dowdel is a canny player for whom losing isn’t an option. The first-person narration is infused with rich, colorful language—“She was skinnier than a toothpick with termites”—and Mary Alice’s shrewd, prickly observations: “Anybody who thinks small towns are friendlier than big cities lives in a big city.”

Year-round fun. (Fiction. 11-13)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000

ISBN: 978-0-8037-2518-8

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BEST MAN
by Richard Peck

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MOUSE WITH THE QUESTION MARK TAIL
by Richard Peck ; illustrated by Kelly Murphy

- BOOK REVIEW
SECRETS AT SEA
by Richard Peck illustrated by Kelly Murphy

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THE CLAY MARBLE

by Minfong Ho ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1991

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Drawing on her experience with a relief organization on the Thai border, Ho tells the story of a Cambodian family, fleeing the rival factions of the 80's while hoping to gather resources to return to farming in their homeland. Narrator Dara, 12, and the remnants of her family have arrived at a refugee camp soon after her father's summary execution. At first, the camp is a haven: food is plentiful, seed rice is available, and they form a bond with another family- -brother Sarun falls in love with Nea, and Dara makes friends with Nea's cousin, Jantu, who contrives marvelous toys from mud and bits of scrap; made wise by adversity, Jantu understands that the process of creation outweighs the value of things, and that dead loved ones may live on in memory. The respite is brief: Vietnamese bombing disrupts the camp, and the family is temporarily but terrifyingly separated. Later, Jantu is wounded by friendly fire and doesn't survive; but her tragic death empowers Dara to confront Sarun, who's caught up in mindless militarism instigated by a charismatic leader, and persuade him to travel home with the others—to plant rice and build a family instead of waging war. Again, Ho (Rice Without Rain, 1990) skillfully shapes her story to dramatize political and humanitarian issues. The easily swayed Sarun lacks dimension, but the girls are more subtly drawn—Dara's growing courage and assertiveness are especially convincing and admirable. Touching, authentic, carefully wrought- -and with an unusually appealing jacket. (Fiction. 11-15)