A fun, action-packed romp with a lesson about living out God’s messages folded in.
An early chapter book full of humor and adventures centered on Christian life.
In this fifth entry in the Dead Sea Squirrels series, ancient talking squirrels Merle and Pearl, who were salted and preserved in a cave for centuries, have now found a home with 10-year-old Michael Gomez and his family. After establishing a life in the 21st century, Merle and Pearl come to realize they can get into as many adventures and difficult situations now as they did in the past. This book features run-ins with other local squirrels and Michael’s family cat as well as trouble at Michael’s school when Merle squirms his way out of Michael’s backpack. Whenever Merle and Pearl find themselves in a pickle, Pearl refers to God’s blessings and reminds Merle of God’s teachings. Even as they laugh at the squirrels’ shenanigans, readers will absorb the lessons to be kind and forgiving to family, friends, and even enemies, following God’s will. The illustrations are appropriately humorous (one of Pearl in a bathrobe and bunny slippers, holding a cup of tea, is particularly funny), and they depict an interracial Gomez family; Michael, his dad, and his sister have somewhat darker skin than does Michael’s mother. A cliffhanger whets readers’ appetites for the next book, Whirly Squirrelies, which publishes simultaneously.
A fun, action-packed romp with a lesson about living out God’s messages folded in. (Fantasy. 6-9)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4964-3514-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Tyndale Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A beautifully written page-turner about belonging.
Badir, a newly arrived Tunisian immigrant to Canada, rallies along with his classmates to save a beaver’s natural habitat from destruction by local residents annoyed by the animal’s constant damage to surrounding trees.
Badir is captivated by what he initially thinks is a huge, swimming rat, an animal he briefly spotted in a pond on his way back from school. With the help of the internet, his teacher, classmates, and also forthcoming strangers eager to share what they know, Badir soon learns that the little creature he spied in darkness is in fact a beaver, Canada’s national symbol. He also finds out that local residents, worried by how the beaver might harm the trees around its habitat, are starting a petition to have what they regard as a pest removed from the park. Unfazed by the task ahead, Badir, along with his classmates, organizes a countercampaign—brainstorming sessions, banners, and all. Who will ultimately get the upper hand? Will the beaver saga have a happy ending? With her gentle tale, Stewart does an excellent job at promoting cultural understanding, not only by foregrounding a young Muslim character and his family, but also by setting the story during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, introducing the reader to many of its facets and doing so with effortless grace. Gendron’s black-and-white illustrations depict a multiracial urban setting.
A beautifully written page-turner about belonging. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1727-2
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Follow this contemporary family, but pack some more expertise in your imaginary suitcase.
The trip to Mecca, the Hajj, is the most important religious event in the life of a Muslim.
A family living in London sets forth on their spiritual journey, leaving the youngest child behind with her grandmother. Most double-page spreads highlight one stage of the trip with a free-verse poem, such as the one that addresses attire: “Dress with a pilgrim / As he stands barefoot, / A sheet round his shoulders, / Another round his waist.” Readers are exhorted to vicariously take part in all the rituals of the nine-day observance. The repetitive nature of the first lines of the poems is soothing, but it may resonate most with young Muslim readers, as children are asked to call out in prayer and gaze at the Black Stone on one side of the Ka'bah, among other “requests.” Although the poems attempt to explain all the practices and there is a back page with additional information, adults familiar with Islam are best positioned to share the book with children as part of a larger discussion on this pillar of the Muslim faith. The folk-art–style mixed-media illustrations, utilizing fabrics and papers, show the great diversity of Muslim pilgrims. There is no bibliography.
Follow this contemporary family, but pack some more expertise in your imaginary suitcase. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-84780-153-1
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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