It's 1915, and the Germans have just ``sunk a ritzy passenger ship . . . somewhere,'' while nine-year-old Patrick fights his own turf war at home. When his pals' Hell's Kitchen ball field is invaded by a non-Irish gang, the Copperheads, Patrick challenges the intruders to a winner-take-all game. His condition for winning, carefully worded in the third person, is that ``Doyle will hit one over the fence.'' The plan is to bring the Irish baseball champ (and Patrick's favorite player, by virtue of their shared last name), Laughing Larry Doyle, to the lot; invited in a fan letter, the slugger shows up, though only to coach. With visions of his saintly, snake-biting namesake in his head, Patrick banishes the Copperheads himself. Armstrong (Black-Eyed Susan, 1995, etc.) pens a feeble entry for the Stepping Stone series, with equal doses of baloney and blarney in a contrived historical sitcom. The characters are folksy, but the dose of ethnic enmity never becomes more than gratuitous. (b&w illustrations, not seen, glossary) (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-679-87285-X
Page Count: 70
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1996
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
Every year since kindergarten, Harry’s Halloween costume has gotten scarier and scarier. What’s it going to be this year? He’s not telling. His classmates are all stunned when he shows up, not as some monster or a weird alien (well, not really)—but as neatly dressed Sgt. Joe Friday of Dragnet fame, wielding a notebook and out to get “just the facts, ma’am.” As she has in Harry’s 11 previous appearances (15, counting the ones his classmate Song Lee headlines), Kline (Marvin and the Mean Words, 1997, etc.) captures grammar-school atmosphere, personalities, and incidents perfectly, from snits to science projects gone hilariously wrong. She even hands Harry/Friday a chance to exercise his sleuthing abilities, with a supply of baby powder “fairy dust” gone mysteriously missing. As legions of fans have learned to expect, Harry comes through with flying colors, pinning down the remorseful culprit in 11 minutes flat. No surprises here, just reliable, child-friendly, middle-grade fare. Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-670-88864-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000
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