Discord has come to the familiar friends in Room 3B. Miss Mackle has assigned a research project about animals from children’s books. Song Lee and Harry both want to study dragons. They are allowed to work together, which usually is a good plan for these cooperative classmates. However, when Harry’s dragon is the fire-breathing one of Arthurian legend, and Song Lee’s is the good-luck dragon of Korean mythology, the war begins. Harry uses the “s” word (stupid) to describe Song Lee’s creation. Fighting words for sure. What follows is a three-hour standoff that ends up involving all the boys and girls in 3B. The situation, reported through the voice of classmate Doug, is real and believable. Song Lee’s reaction to Henry’s word will spark a moment of uncomfortable recognition for any grade-school child: she completely rebuffs any apologetic overture and holds her stubborn position for three full hours, an eternity in the close quarters of a classroom. Remkiewicz’s signature illustrations add life to the argument and its realistic solution. While such situations might seem trivial to the adult observer, Kline, a former schoolteacher, hits the nail on the head once again by telling a real classroom story. She allows the young protagonists to solve their problems the way they often do, with light adult intervention, good intentions, and gentle forgiveness. Kline and her publisher understand the needs of emergent readers and provide them with a large font, frequent illustrations, and a familiar story. This is another fine story for the reader who is just ready for chapter books. (Easy reader. 7-10)
Pub Date: May 20, 2002
ISBN: 0-670-03559-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
McDonald’s irrepressible third-grader (Judy Moody Gets Famous, 2001, etc.) takes a few false steps before hitting full stride. This time, not only has her genius little brother Stink submitted a competing entry in the Crazy Strips Band-Aid design contest, but in the wake of her science teacher’s heads-up about rainforest destruction and endangered animals, she sees every member of her family using rainforest products. It’s all more than enough to put her in a Mood, which gets her in trouble at home for letting Stink’s pet toad, Toady, go free, and at school for surreptitiously collecting all the pencils (made from rainforest cedar) in class. And to top it off, Stink’s Crazy Strips entry wins a prize, while she gets . . . a certificate. Chronicled amusingly in Reynolds’s frequent ink-and-tea drawings, Judy goes from pillar to post—but she justifies the pencil caper convincingly enough to spark a bottle drive that nets her and her classmates not only a hundred seedling trees for Costa Rica, but the coveted school Giraffe Award (given to those who stick their necks out), along with T-shirts and ice cream coupons. Judy’s growing corps of fans will crow “Rare!” right along with her. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-7636-1446-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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