Cupcake recipes and baking tips are included in this overlong (for the audience) effort that misses the opportunity to...
Can developing a successful baking club help a fourth-grader move out from the shadow of a persistent bully?
Possibly, but will anyone truly believe it? Kylie has been the victim of nasty rich-girl Meredith’s cruel barbs and tricks ever since she moved to Connecticut in third grade. Finally, a new teacher reaches out to Kylie, though not really because of the bullying, and encourages her to start a baking club. She gathers up three other outsider girls, and together, after a couple of believable missteps, they begin to create cupcakes so good that they are in constant demand, the girls needing to make anywhere from dozens to hundreds a week to fulfill a long list of orders. But that’s okay; they implausibly rise to the challenge, baking massive numbers of cupcakes month after month. The bullying—conveniently never noticed by teachers—continues unabated. When given the opportunity to bake a massive order of cupcakes for Meredith’s country-club 10th-birthday party, Kylie takes the opportunity for retribution, but with horrifying consequences. The conclusion is vanilla-flavored with a too-facile resolution considering the nature of Kylie’s act, even if she didn’t fully grasp the significance of it.
Cupcake recipes and baking tips are included in this overlong (for the audience) effort that misses the opportunity to effectively deal with bullying. (Fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: April 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4022-6449-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2012
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers.
First volume of a planned three, this edited version of an ongoing online serial records a middle-school everykid’s triumphs and (more often) tribulations through the course of a school year.
Largely through his own fault, mishaps seem to plague Greg at every turn, from the minor freak-outs of finding himself permanently seated in class between two pierced stoners and then being saddled with his mom for a substitute teacher, to being forced to wrestle in gym with a weird classmate who has invited him to view his “secret freckle.” Presented in a mix of legible “hand-lettered” text and lots of simple cartoon illustrations with the punch lines often in dialogue balloons, Greg’s escapades, unwavering self-interest and sardonic commentary are a hoot and a half.
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-9313-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet!
Ryan Hart is navigating the fourth grade and all its challenges with determination.
Her mom named her Ryan because it means “king,” and she wanted Ryan to feel powerful every time she heard her name; Ryan knows it means she is a leader. So when changes occur or disaster strikes, budding chef Ryan does her best to find the positive and “make sunshine.” When her dad is laid off from the post office, the family must make adjustments that include moving into a smaller house, selling their car, and changing how they shop for groceries. But Ryan gets to stay at Vernon Elementary, and her mom still finds a way to get her the ingredients she needs to practice new recipes. Her older brother, Ray, can be bossy, but he finds little ways to support her, especially when she is down—as does the whole family. Each episodic chapter confronts Ryan with a situation; intermittently funny, frustrating, and touching, they should be familiar and accessible to readers, as when Ryan fumbles her Easter speech despite careful practice. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and Watson continues to bring visibility to both Portland, Oregon, generally and its Black community specifically, making another wonderful contribution that allows Black readers to see themselves and all readers to find a character they can love.
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet! (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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