Helpful reading practice where needed.
Best friends Allie and Amy have plans for their summer, but when they are nearly separated, they have to zoom through their summer to-do list.
It’s the first day of summer vacation, and Amy and Allie can’t wait to get started on their short list of “Things To Do This Summer.” But they’ve only completed one item when Allie’s parents tell her that she got a spot at Camp Merry Moose. At first she is excited, but when she calls Amy, Amy tells her she can’t go because then they’ll be separated. Allie tries to back out of camp, but her parents won’t hear of it. So she devises a plan to bind herself to Amy, which, predictably, doesn’t last long. The best friends decide they will have to rush through their list. Using the alarms on their watches, they speed through their fun in time for Allie to pack for camp. Their farewell is too quick to take seriously, but it turns out they don’t have to separate after all. The large, generously spaced typeset is broken up by half-page black-and-white illustrations, and a word list gives pronunciations and definitions of less-common words. The story is more fast than fun, and it sacrifices realism and emotional resonance for speed. Still, it serves its narrow purpose of bridging the gap between beginning readers and chapter books. Allie and her family are black, Amy and her family are white, and an annoying-boy secondary character has a Spanish surname.
Helpful reading practice where needed. (reading questions) (Fiction. 4-9)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5251-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Aladdin QUIX
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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