A likable hero and a neatly plotted mystery.
A boy in search of roots solves his first mystery.
Simon Hyde, 11 ½, worries that the burglary at the Tangerine Pines apartments will result in his parents’ quickly moving from the new home that he’d hoped might be permanent. Including the most recent one, where he broke his leg in a fall from a tree, Simon lived in 27 different places before arriving in Rigsby. His parents, both digital nomads, make a living from remote work and their popular The Hydes Go Seek social media account, which details their itinerant lifestyle. Simon feels they’ve been “adrift like a clump of dandelion seeds.” He’s kept a rock collection—“one small piece of every place we’ve ever lived”—but he longs for more lasting connections. When a priceless necklace goes missing, Simon, who reads white, tries to identify the thief with the help of ebullient new friend Amaya Sharma, who’s also 11. Another neighbor, retired detective Mrs. Kobayashi, offers him tips, notably, “Be patient and allow yourself to observe.” This advice turns out to be a great strategy for getting to know new friends and neighbors, including Calvin Morris, a Black boy around his age. McDunn’s characters are nicely realized, and the mystery is satisfyingly resolved.
A likable hero and a neatly plotted mystery. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781547611003
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
A warm bundle of holiday cheer.
In a funny, feel-good tale, 12-year-old twins separated at birth meet by chance and try to pull off a family switch during the December holidays.
The girls, who are cued white, agree that it would be a delicious prank, but each has a personal motive, too: Aviva Davis, who was adopted by a culturally Jewish mom and a Black dad who was raised Christian, wonders what it’s like to celebrate Christmas. Budding author Holly Martin, who was adopted by a white-presenting single mom, sees a golden opportunity to gather experiences for a school writing assignment about facing her fears. In a plot as sweet as a Hanukkah jelly doughnut and twisty as a Christmas cinnamon roll, the pair just manages to bail one another out of a string of sticky situations—both hilarious and otherwise. They both learn something of the customs and meaning of the two holidays while working through tears and laughter—not to mention conflicts sparked by their very different personalities. Everything culminates in a holiday performance at a local senior center that will have readers rising up to cheer them on. Though their history remains tantalizingly mysterious, for the protagonists, who narrate alternating chapters, it’s mission accomplished and more: Aviva emerges feeling more secure in her Jewish identity, while anxious Holly discovers unexpected depths of courage.
A warm bundle of holiday cheer. (song lyrics) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9781250360670
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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