by Gary Soto ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1994
Seventh-graders Hector and Mando are spending a weekend with Hector's uncle in Fresno, California. No sooner is the visit underway than the boys run into trouble: Uncle Julio, shooting aerial farm photographs, accidently snaps a crime in progress. Hector and Mando mouth off to a local newspaper about their role in obtaining this evidence and get their names in print along with enough details of the heist to make the robbers nervous. Huey and Freddie, who are comic-book bad guys, are only slightly more dimensional than Julio and his love interest, Vicky. In fact, all the adults are goofy, including chiropractor Dr. Femur; and there are too many points of view, too many lapses in storytelling in quest of easy laughs, too many tics in the unexpectedly graceless writing. Not in evidence are such hallmarks of Soto's short stories as low-key humor, fully fleshed-out characters, and defining situations, incisively handled. The weekend may have been crazy; the book is just plain clumsy. Spanish-English glossary. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-590-47814-1
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1994
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by Gary Soto & illustrated by Rhode Montijo
by Andrew Clements & illustrated by Brian Selznick ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1996
With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating...
Nicholas is a bright boy who likes to make trouble at school, creatively.
When he decides to torment his fifth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Granger (who is just as smart as he is), by getting everyone in the class to replace the word "pen'' with "frindle,'' he unleashes a series of events that rapidly spins out of control. If there's any justice in the world, Clements (Temple Cat, 1995, etc.) may have something of a classic on his hands. By turns amusing and adroit, this first novel is also utterly satisfying. The chess-like sparring between the gifted Nicholas and his crafty teacher is enthralling, while Mrs. Granger is that rarest of the breed: a teacher the children fear and complain about for the school year, and love and respect forever after.
With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating tale—one to press upon children, and one they'll be passing among themselves. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-689-80669-8
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1996
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by Andrew Clements & illustrated by Mark Elliott
by Julia Alvarez ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Raúl Colón
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