A witty, heartfelt, and sophisticated story about the consequences of grief.
What happens when an imaginary elementary school friend stays around when you’re in middle school?
As a small child, Zach Belvin began his friendship with an imaginary furry purple friend he names Shovel. Zach shared his imagination and bright blue eyes with his dad. But when Zach was just 6, his father fell ill and died. After this devastating loss, Zach escaped with Shovel into fantasy worlds filled with magic and knights and danger. “These places might’ve seemed scary, but we both knew….Reality could be so much scarier.” With Shovel as a narrator—hilarious, despite the seriousness of the subject matter—readers experience Zach’s loneliness up close. On the first day of middle school, Zach is bullied by some boys—including his former best friend, Ryan. Shovel inspires Zach to fight back, and new student Anni joins in to help, resulting in both of them being placed in detention with Ryan for a week, a situation that leads to social and emotional growth and real-life problem-solving. Even as Zach learns to deal with his grief and Shovel begins to fade away, the purple furball protects the heart of this vulnerable boy with humor and love. Spot art depicts a charmingly appealing Shovel and a racially diverse human cast: Zach and his family present White, Anni is cued as East Asian, and some supporting characters read as Black.
A witty, heartfelt, and sophisticated story about the consequences of grief. (author's note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4664-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
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
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
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