A moving and thoughtful series addition.
Third grader Amina’s efforts to grasp the intricacies of English threaten to overwhelm her.
Since moving to Indianapolis a few weeks ago, Syrian refugee Amina has been finding her footing at school. But after a series of demoralizing incidents, she begins internalizing her older brother Sami’s defeatist attitude: “We’re always going to struggle with learning English. We’re always going to feel second place.” ESL teacher Ms. Tanya shows her the insensitively titled Teaching Kids Spelling for Dummies, mean classmate Tara sneers when Amina scores poorly on a spelling test, and Amina overhears her doctor mother telling her father that she plans to postpone her professional exams because she still hasn’t mastered English. Determined to prove herself by winning the upcoming spelling bee, science-loving Amina devises a formula for success, which includes studying hard, focusing, and keeping her strategy secret. But her preparations consume her—and, worst of all, isolate her from her new friends. Once more, Safadi plumbs Amina’s anxieties with a mix of sensitivity and humor. Amina’s insightful commentary on the strangeness of English idioms and her realizations about the spelling bee competition (“Winning is being with the people that matter the most”) make her an empathetic protagonist whom readers will be eager to befriend. Her Syrian and Muslim identities are richly incorporated into the narrative; her community is diverse. Final art not seen.
A moving and thoughtful series addition. (author’s note, spelling tips and tricks, recipe) (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780593699232
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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