In a sequel to the beguiling Falcon’s Egg (1995), Gray continues her sweetly old-fashioned fantasy about a girl and her dragon. After a visit to their divorced father in Australia, 12-year-old Falcon and her little brother Toody are saved by Egg, Falcon’s erstwhile pet dragon, from what could have been a tragic (if implausible) accident. When Falcon turns to an ingratiatingly eccentric witch and another (elderly) dragon to locate her accidentally mislaid brother, the misadventures begin. Falcon and company are swept off to a fantastic alternative New York, while her father and his aboriginal allies attempt to protect Egg from the triple menace of sightseers, the military, and (most sinister) a blowhard talk-show host. Eventually, the villains are routed, the grownups learn to believe in magic, and serious-minded Falcon achieves a new degree of self-confidence. Leavening a riotous imagination with a delightful practicality (flying dragonback still requires bathroom breaks), and chock-full of allusions to children’s and world literature (the dragons speak in mangled classical quotations), Gray’s style is reminiscent of the lighthearted charm of Edward Eager. But lacking his subtly dark infrastructure, the author’s fluffy soufflé of a plot eventually collapses under the weight of its own whimsy, degenerating into a confusing anticlimactic confrontation and lowbrow jokes about dragon flatus. Still, Falcon is an engaging heroine, and middle-school readers will no doubt look forward to her further adventures. Sources for the quotations, along with a cookie recipe, are included in the endmatter. (Fiction. 9-13)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-618-16410-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2002
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
After Castro’s takeover, nine-year-old Julian and his older brothers are sent away by their fearful parents via “Operation Pedro Pan” to a camp in Miami for Cuban-exile children. Here he discovers that a ruthless bully has essentially been put in charge. Julian is quicker-witted than his brothers or anyone else ever imagined, though, and with his inherent smarts, developing maturity and the help of child and adult friends, he learns to navigate the dynamics of the camp and surroundings and grows from the former baby of the family to independence and self-confidence. A daring rescue mission at the end of the novel will have readers rooting for Julian even as it opens his family’s eyes to his courage and resourcefulness. This autobiographical novel is a well-meaning, fast-paced and often exciting read, though at times the writing feels choppy. It will introduce readers to a not-so-distant period whose echoes are still felt today and inspire admiration for young people who had to be brave despite frightening and lonely odds. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-168-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
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