In this second adventure, Puerto Rican–American Gabí confronts a minor mystery: why is the new girl in the neighborhood so secretive? Could she even be a ghost? After all, the house is reputed to be haunted. Lizzie, a.k.a. Lizard, is all too human; due to a birth defect, she wears a leg brace and goes to a special school. Not wanting to be pitied, she tries to prevent others from finding out. Gabí and Lizzie quickly bond over their physical agility (Lizzie is an excellent climber) and their imaginary roles as super heroes—Gabí the Great and Gecko Girl, respectively—but almost lose their new-found friendship over Lizzie’s older twin brothers, who enjoy terrorizing Gabí’s little brother Miguelito. Gabí’s narration is propulsive and a little hyper—sure to please young readers—and Cepeda’s line illustrations are wry, emotive, and only a bit exaggerated. Spanish words and phrases, explained both by context and a glossary, will feel comfortable and comforting to bilingual students, while providing non-Spanish speakers with an appealing introduction to the language. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-439-51711-7
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class announcing: “I’m your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything.” Everything about her is unusual and mysterious—her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince’s palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are “absolutely true.” Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher’s lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of “how a story is made” titles. Gooney Bird’s stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children’s fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-23848-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
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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