THE QUIRKS AND THE QUIRKALICIOUS BIRTHDAY

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THE QUIRKS AND THE QUIRKALICIOUS BIRTHDAY

Name: THE QUIRKS AND THE QUIRKALICIOUS BIRTHDAY
Author: Erin Soderberg
ISBN: 978-1-61963-370-4

From the Quirks series , Vol. 3

by Erin Soderberg ; illustrated by Colin Jack ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 13, 2015

This birthday-anxiety story is made fresh by both the twins’ dynamics and the riddles.

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The Quirk twins, about to turn 10, disagree about how to celebrate against a backdrop of magical mishaps.

This year, Grandpa Quill’s Quirkalicious Birthday Hunt will be the toughest yet. (Rules are helpfully spelled out: In the week leading to their birthday, there are five clues; four lead to small gifts and the last to the big one.) Facing a greater-than-expected challenge, Penelope and Molly disagree on how to proceed and who should call the shots. Additionally, for the first time ever, they are having a birthday party with friends. Molly wants her first birthday party to be perfect—and perfectly normal; Penelope’s anxious about being the center of attention and keeping her splashy magic power (her thoughts manifest in reality) under wraps. This conflict of desires is heightened as Pen concludes that Molly’s bossy, and Molly resents the sacrifices she makes to help Penelope control her magic. Additionally, the scavenger hunt’s riddles challenge the girls, but nothing puzzles them more than the seemingly random small gifts. Will the twins reconcile their differences, prevent their birthday party from becoming a disaster and find their big gift? Of course, but the emotional roots of the disagreement will ring true for readers with siblings or close friends, grounding the story with a touch of reality amid the silly magic.

This birthday-anxiety story is made fresh by both the twins’ dynamics and the riddles. (illustrations not seen) (Fantasy. 8-11)

Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-61963-370-4

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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PIPER COOKS UP A PLAN
by Erin Soderberg ; illustrated by Anoosha Syed

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MILLA TAKES CHARGE
by Erin Soderberg ; illustrated by Anoosha Syed

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THE QUIRKS IN CIRCUS QUIRKUS
by Erin Soderberg ; illustrated by Kelly Light

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WAYS TO MAKE SUNSHINE

From the Ryan Hart series , Vol. 1

by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Niña Mata ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2020

Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet!

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Ryan Hart is navigating the fourth grade and all its challenges with determination.

Her mom named her Ryan because it means “king,” and she wanted Ryan to feel powerful every time she heard her name; Ryan knows it means she is a leader. So when changes occur or disaster strikes, budding chef Ryan does her best to find the positive and “make sunshine.” When her dad is laid off from the post office, the family must make adjustments that include moving into a smaller house, selling their car, and changing how they shop for groceries. But Ryan gets to stay at Vernon Elementary, and her mom still finds a way to get her the ingredients she needs to practice new recipes. Her older brother, Ray, can be bossy, but he finds little ways to support her, especially when she is down—as does the whole family. Each episodic chapter confronts Ryan with a situation; intermittently funny, frustrating, and touching, they should be familiar and accessible to readers, as when Ryan fumbles her Easter speech despite careful practice. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and Watson continues to bring visibility to both Portland, Oregon, generally and its Black community specifically, making another wonderful contribution that allows Black readers to see themselves and all readers to find a character they can love.

Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet! (Fiction. 8-10)

Pub Date: April 28, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
ALL THE BLUES IN THE SKY
by Renée Watson

- BOOK REVIEW
CICELY TYSON
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Sherry Shine

- BOOK REVIEW
SUMMER IS HERE
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Bea Jackson

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TUCK EVERLASTING

by Natalie Babbitt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1975

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

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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)