An African-American lad saves his family’s bacon in a tale set during the Great Oklahoma Land Run. Struggling to make ends meet and hearing of a chance for a fresh start out west, Moses’s father trades in his fish stall for a wagon, and packs up the extended family for the long journey from Baltimore to Oklahoma. Overcoming obstacles both natural and human, the hopeful clan arrives to join the huge crowd at the starting line—but in the mad scramble after the gun goes off, Moses’ father breaks his leg when the wagon plunges into an unseen stream bed. It’s up to Moses, then, to take one of the horses and a handkerchief marker and ride ahead to choose and stake a good claim. Ellison provides painterly, full-page illustrations of dark-skinned, grave-looking figures in period dress, captures the drama of the hard gallop at the climax and closes with an aerial view of the handkerchief waving atop a pole over a cluster of farm buildings. Actually, as the author points out in his foreword (where he also briefly alludes to the hardships suffered by Native-American groups in the Oklahoma Territory), there were five Land Runs between 1889 and 1895; here he presents a composite to highlight the fact that many African-Americans seized the chance to start new lives. (Picture book. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-58536-316-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2007
Told from the point of view of two warring siblings, this could have been an engaging first chapter book. Unfortunately, the length makes it less likely to appeal to the intended audience. Jessie and Evan are usually good friends as well as sister and brother. But the news that bright Jessie will be skipping a grade to join Evan’s fourth-grade class creates tension. Evan believes himself to be less than clever; Jessie’s emotional maturity doesn’t quite measure up to her intelligence. Rivalry and misunderstandings grow as the two compete to earn the most money in the waning days of summer. The plot rolls along smoothly and readers will be able to both follow the action and feel superior to both main characters as their motivations and misconceptions are clearly displayed. Indeed, a bit more subtlety in characterization might have strengthened the book’s appeal. The final resolution is not entirely believable, but the emphasis on cooperation and understanding is clear. Earnest and potentially successful, but just misses the mark. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 23, 2007
ISBN: 0-618-75043-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Flattened once more, this time not by a falling bulletin board but a double blow to his elusive “Osteal Balance Point”—or so says family GP Dr. Dan—Stanley Lambchop gets two more chances to play the hero before popping back into shape. First he becomes a human spinnaker in a sailboat race, then he worms his way through the wreckage of a collapsed building to rescue ever-rude classmate Emma Weeks. Alluding to previous episodes, Stanley complains, “Why me? Why am I always getting flat, or invisible, or something?” Mr. Lambchop replies, “But things often happen without there seeming to be a reason, and then something else happens, and suddenly the first thing seems to have had a purpose after all.” Perhaps—even if that purpose is just to tread water, as Brown does here. Still, with its cartoon illustrations, well-leaded text and general goofiness, this retread is as likely to draw transitional readers as the perennial favorite Flat Stanley (1964) and its sequels. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-06-009551-2
Page Count: 96
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2003
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
