Clad in tight jeans and sporting black nail polish, spell-casting Ms. Wiz, with an omniscient cat and curious rat in tow, transforms the Class Three children from little terrors to terrific pupils. Quickly labeled a witch, this unorthodox teacher prefers the term “Paranormal Operative” instead. Peculiar lessons increase student achievement and provide entertainment: Wiz’s mathematics, for instance, involves a well-trained owl who relieves himself on command when students answer incorrectly. Naturally, adults question her methods and rejoice when Ms. Wiz resigns to travel “where magic is needed.” Sequel In Stitches with Ms. Wiz (ISBN: 978-0-7614-5549-3) reunites student Jack, suffering from appendicitis, with Ms. Wiz, now disguised as Dr. Wisdom in a hospital rife with loose rodents and displayed organs. The first entry’s stronger than the second, as the story’s magic excels more in the classroom than in the operating room. Ross’s exuberant lines convey the outlandish situations, though many characters are one-dimensional in these British series offerings, originally published in 1988. Instead of plot development, the focus relies too heavily on cheap jokes for little laughs. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5548-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2008
Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class announcing: “I’m your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything.” Everything about her is unusual and mysterious—her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince’s palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are “absolutely true.” Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher’s lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of “how a story is made” titles. Gooney Bird’s stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children’s fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-23848-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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