Ambitious but overworked.
Will a fifth grader lose all her friends to a bully?
In this sophomore volume in the Robin Hood–themed Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw series, green-hoodie–clad Robin Loxley and her group of friends are enjoying fifth grade, playing basketball, and eagerly awaiting the upcoming fair. Robin has her eye on bully Nadia, with whom she has a history. She soon notices her friend LJ spending more and more time with Nadia. As her concern slowly spirals into fixation, her other friends also begin to drift away. When she realizes she is all alone, Robin angrily confronts her friends and is then faced with the impact of her outburst. Watching Robin slowly and carefully sort out her feelings and hearing her unpack her missteps could certainly be an asset to those struggling with similar issues. Loveless’ offering is told in diary format with a large, easy-to-read typeface; pages of prose are sprinkled with cheerful crayonlike illustrations by Bell. At times, however, the illustrations can interrupt the text flow, as when a basketball bounces through it, seemingly out of nowhere. Similarly, the high-concept narrative feels overstuffed with unnecessary gimmicks, like spontaneously rapping twins Allana and Dale and an overabundance of food-related figurative language. Main character Robin presents white and her friends are racially diverse but not specified; the twins have two dads.
Ambitious but overworked. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5248-5574-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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