An educational and entertaining series opener.
When third graders Pablo, Violet, and Deepak enter the Maker Maze, their new friendship—and their knowledge of science—is put to the test.
Pablo is looking forward to third grade. He’s got a spaceship T-shirt that matches his sneakers, he’s in the same class as his best friend, Violet, and he is ready to learn about his favorite subject: science. But new student Deepak’s wearing the exact same outfit and starts to make friends with Violet. Pablo feels jealous, but before he can process his feelings, he, Violet, and Deepak discover a mysterious riddle. Solving it together sucks them into a magical scientific world where a rainbow-haired white woman named Dr. Crisp tells them that they must solve a series of puzzles to get out of the Maker Maze. Using their knowledge of ecosystems, the three must finish in time—which they can only do if Pablo puts aside his resentment of Deepak. The book features a diverse and likable cast. Pablo’s Puerto Rican and speaks Spanish, Deepak is South Asian, and Violet appears black in the illustrations. The language in this chapter book is light and easy to read, and the scientific content is accurate, interesting, and well presented. At times, the conflict between Pablo and Deepak feels forced, but the momentum of the maze challenge carries the story past a few awkward moments. The backmatter offers two science activities.
An educational and entertaining series opener. (Science fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-12298-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound.
The titular cookie runs off the page at a bookstore storytime, pursued by young listeners and literary characters.
Following on 13 previous How To Catch… escapades, Wallace supplies sometimes-tortured doggerel and Elkerton, a set of helter-skelter cartoon scenes. Here the insouciant narrator scampers through aisles, avoiding a series of elaborate snares set by the racially diverse young storytime audience with help from some classic figures: “Alice and her mad-hat friends, / as a gift for my unbirthday, / helped guide me through the walls of shelves— / now I’m bound to find my way.” The literary helpers don’t look like their conventional or Disney counterparts in the illustrations, but all are clearly identified by at least a broad hint or visual cue, like the unnamed “wizard” who swoops in on a broom to knock over a tower labeled “Frogwarts.” Along with playing a bit fast and loose with details (“Perhaps the boy with the magic beans / saved me with his cow…”) the author discards his original’s lip-smacking climax to have the errant snack circling back at last to his book for a comfier sort of happily-ever-after.
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0935-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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
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