DePaola’s fourth volume in the popular 26 Fairmount Avenue series is as charming and engaging as its predecessors. It is 1940 and Tomie, or “Tommy,” as Miss Kiniry, his first-grade teacher, spells it, is starting first grade in style—with his sixth birthday. Tomie is bathed in the love and care of his family and community as they plan a school party the Friday before his real birthday and a surprise party of relatives and grown-up friends on his real birthday. As if this were not enough excitement for young Tomie, he has Halloween next on his agenda. Tomie, impeccably dressed as Snow White, and Buddy, decked out as the Wicked Witch, are the hit of the neighborhood. DePaola remembers all the small details of his Christmas—from the carefully constructed lists for Santa to the evening mass, to waiting for Santa and the excitement of opening presents. DePaola’s warm drawings give just the right amount of visual information without intruding on the delightful vignettes. The comforting story, large typeface, and ample space around the illustrations make this a perfect early chapter book for young readers. Those who open the loving doors of the little house on Fairmount Avenue will want to stay for a long time, at least for some of Nana’s flaming plum pudding. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-23797-6
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2002
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
Driven by the observation that most children lose their enthusiasm for making art as they get older, Reynolds prods a reluctant child into an eye-opening whirl of creativity. Asserting that she’s no artist, Vashti angrily responds to a teacher’s mild suggestion by dashing a small mark onto a big sheet of paper, then signing it. Seeing that sheet in a frame the next day, she mutters, “Hmmph! I can make a better dot than THAT!”—and proceeds to fill sheet after sheet with glorious arrays of splotches and blotches. In his own freely drawn pictures, Reynolds sets off Vashti’s colorful creations by hanging them, in the subsequent art show, in front of human figures defined by neutral-toned washes. And Vashti passes on her new-found insight at the end, inviting a young admirer who ruefully claims that he can’t draw a straight line to make a squiggle and sign it. This isn’t going to create interest where there is none, but it may speak to formerly artistic young readers who are selling their own abilities short. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-7636-1961-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2003
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