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STRANGEVILLE SCHOOL IS TOTALLY NORMAL

From the Strangeville School series , Vol. 1

Wonderfully weird and extremely entertaining.

New fifth grade student Harvey Hill discovers Strangeville School more than lives up to its name.

After attending four different schools in the space of four years, Harvey is familiar with the role of new kid. However, he’s not prepared for the bizarre and peculiar happenings that Strangeville students and staff find routine, like dangerous animals on the loose, a black hole in the cafeteria meatloaf, and mysterious disappearances orchestrated by a sinister force. Thankfully, he has classmate Stella Cho to help him navigate these increasingly surreal situations. Stella and Harvey can both relate to feeling like outsiders. Stella hides her loneliness behind defensive armor, while Harvey’s barrier in making friends is due to a closely guarded secret. The two initially stumble through their friendship but soon learn the value of camaraderie and support. Harvey’s self-acceptance is empowering and allows him to reach new heights to save the school. While the plot is solidly sci-fi, real-world issues like insecurity, friendship, and embracing what makes you different ground the story. The deadpan third-person omniscient narration, which includes frequent asides to readers, is infused with quirky and irreverent humor. Short, action-packed chapters and abundant illustrations add to the appeal. Harvey reads as White; Stella’s surname cues her as Korean American. Final illustrations not seen.

Wonderfully weird and extremely entertaining. (Science fiction. 7-11)

Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-30950-6

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021

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TUCK EVERLASTING

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...

At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever. 

Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it. 

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the first week in August when this takes place to "the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning") help to justify the extravagant early assertion that had the secret about to be revealed been known at the time of the action, the very earth "would have trembled on its axis like a beetle on a pin." (Fantasy. 9-11)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975

ISBN: 0312369816

Page Count: 164

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

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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