For children, a whimsical word of warning. For their parents, a pleasant surprise that this time they’re not made out to be...
Andrew’s interests threaten to get the better of him in this tongue-in-cheek take on an all-too-common plight.
Returning to the best buddies introduced in Edie’s Ensembles (2014), Spires follows bustling chickadee Andrew as he piles on activities. His natural acting talent leads him to sharpen his public-speaking skills by joining debate club, increase coordination by signing up for ballet and karate lessons—and then he tacks on chess, tennis, bagpipes, French film club, and more. Instead of pushy parents, though, it’s a combination of teachers, importunate schoolmates, and his grandmother that join his own initiative in spurring him on. Unsurprisingly, before long he’s so exhausted he can’t stay awake even for the 15 minutes he determinedly reserves for his patient friend Edie each Friday afternoon. Finally he even misses an entrance cue—which is such a bummer (“He felt just like a character in a French film”) that he quits it all except drama and French cinema, leaving him time to join Edie and other friends in some unbridled, unscheduled hanging out. Reflecting Andrew’s thespian predilections, the technically adroit illustrations feature small but broadly expressive animal figures in colorful dress, all placed in spacious, minimally detailed monochromatic settings that focus attention on the activity or emotional tenor of the moment.
For children, a whimsical word of warning. For their parents, a pleasant surprise that this time they’re not made out to be at fault. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-484-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
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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
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