Unlike Polacco’s Thank You, Mr. Falker (1998)—an affecting, personal look at the pain cruel kids can inflict on those they...
Despite good intentions, Polacco’s current take on this particular hot topic falls short.
First and foremost, it seems unlikely that the message will ever reach its intended audience. Extensive text and challenging vocabulary make it clear that although the story is told in Polacco’s typical picture-book format, it’s really aimed at older children. Lyla and her friends (and enemies) appear to be in middle school, but the simplistic plot won’t keep kids that age engaged. New at school, Lyla first finds a good friend in fellow newcomer Jamie. When her cheerleading talents are revealed, Lyla is adopted by the in crowd. Savvy readers won’t be surprised when she struggles to balance her friendships or by her eventual decision to stand up for Jamie. That decision leads to an accusation of cheating and an all-out campaign of cyberbullying. While Polacco gets quite a few things just right—the three mean girls’ body language perfectly expresses their snotty attitude, and Lyla’s pleasure in being part of the popular group is entirely believable—overall, the plot is predictable. Ending with a question for readers emphasizes the bibliotherapeutic goal and further weakens the potential impact.
Unlike Polacco’s Thank You, Mr. Falker (1998)—an affecting, personal look at the pain cruel kids can inflict on those they perceive as different—this contemporary effort won’t move readers to better understand themselves or others. (Picture book. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-399-25704-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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
A real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
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