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MARTIN BRIDGE

BLAZING AHEAD!

Martin Bridge is back, in an entirely likable early chapter book written with affection and humor. Two stories continue the series that began with Martin Bridge: Ready for Takeoff! (2005). Martin’s in a pickle in “Relish,” when he goes on his first overnight camping trip with his Junior Badgers. Sharing a cabin room with his friend Alex is a mixed blessing, since Alex is a known prankster—guess who becomes the object of Alex’s slimy prank. Martin gets his revenge, though not exactly as he had planned. “Lightning Bolts,” the more subtle and insightful of the two stories, is about a familiar family conflict: Mr. Bridge wants help fixing the lawnmower, but Martin wants to watch television. It turns out, though, not to be about the lawnmower at all, but the father-son relationship that Martin comes to appreciate. Realistic, everyday situations, likable characters and simple stories written in rich language with solid dialogue and humor will make this a series with endless variations, and readers will eagerly anticipate every new installment. (Fiction. 7-10)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006

ISBN: 1-55337-961-6

Page Count: 112

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2006

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RIVER STORY

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

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JUDY MOODY SAVES THE WORLD!

McDonald’s irrepressible third-grader (Judy Moody Gets Famous, 2001, etc.) takes a few false steps before hitting full stride. This time, not only has her genius little brother Stink submitted a competing entry in the Crazy Strips Band-Aid design contest, but in the wake of her science teacher’s heads-up about rainforest destruction and endangered animals, she sees every member of her family using rainforest products. It’s all more than enough to put her in a Mood, which gets her in trouble at home for letting Stink’s pet toad, Toady, go free, and at school for surreptitiously collecting all the pencils (made from rainforest cedar) in class. And to top it off, Stink’s Crazy Strips entry wins a prize, while she gets . . . a certificate. Chronicled amusingly in Reynolds’s frequent ink-and-tea drawings, Judy goes from pillar to post—but she justifies the pencil caper convincingly enough to spark a bottle drive that nets her and her classmates not only a hundred seedling trees for Costa Rica, but the coveted school Giraffe Award (given to those who stick their necks out), along with T-shirts and ice cream coupons. Judy’s growing corps of fans will crow “Rare!” right along with her. (Fiction. 8-10)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-7636-1446-7

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2002

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