One of Hamilton's more accessible and unforced novels, Junius Over Far celebrates a boy's love for his grandfather, a man's rediscovery of his roots, and an old man's dignity and belonging. In so doing it sounds the relationship between a black and a white descendent of a slave-owning family and weaves in a touch of first love, a little curiosity-piquing mystery, and a taste of life on a small Caribbean island. The story begins with 15-year-old Junius Rawlings acutely missing his grandfather Jackabo, who raised Junius while his parents worked but has recently retired to his native Caribbean island. A high-school loner, Junius even speaks in his grandfather's island accent. Their separation does, however, allow Junius time for his first girlfriend; and it is a pleasure to see his growing confidence with the beautiful Sarrietta. Jackabo has gone to live with his distant white cousin, Burtie Rawlings, in the ruins of the old Rawlings plantation. There it seems that the two "old enemies," who call each other Dirty Burtie and Stinking Black Jack, have formed an almost affectionate mutual accommodation. But Burtie has been spying on sinister strangers at a nearby house, and late one night Jackabo sees him carried off, "like a sack." What with too many drinks and the effects of age, neglect and solitude, grandfather becomes disoriented—and Junius and his father Damius are confused by his letter about Burtie being carried away by pirates. They are, however, concerned enough to go to the island, which Damius has avoided since his youth. From their arrival on the island the novel glows and snaps with strong, compelling scenes, be they small and intimate like their meeting with the dazed old man they recognize as father and grandfather, or dramatic and public, like their visit to the island police station where they report Burtie missing—only to learn of the white Rawlings' small-time treachery. If, in the end, the strangers' sinister business sounds like a Cold War concoction, and if the ultimate disposition of the Rawlings property seems a little too good to be convincingly true, these details are peripheral and unimportant compared to Hamilton's clear-sighted handling of the Burtie connection and her vibrant family portrait.
Pub Date: April 24, 1985
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1985
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires.
Little Blue Truck feels, well, blue when he delivers valentine after valentine but receives nary a one.
His bed overflowing with cards, Blue sets out to deliver a yellow card with purple polka dots and a shiny purple heart to Hen, one with a shiny fuchsia heart to Pig, a big, shiny, red heart-shaped card to Horse, and so on. With each delivery there is an exchange of Beeps from Blue and the appropriate animal sounds from his friends, Blue’s Beeps always set in blue and the animal’s vocalization in a color that matches the card it receives. But as Blue heads home, his deliveries complete, his headlight eyes are sad and his front bumper droops ever so slightly. Blue is therefore surprised (but readers may not be) when he pulls into his garage to be greeted by all his friends with a shiny blue valentine just for him. In this, Blue’s seventh outing, it’s not just the sturdy protagonist that seems to be wilting. Schertle’s verse, usually reliable, stumbles more than once; stanzas such as “But Valentine’s Day / didn’t seem much fun / when he didn’t get cards / from anyone” will cause hitches during read-alouds. The illustrations, done by Joseph in the style of original series collaborator Jill McElmurry, are pleasant enough, but his compositions often feel stiff and forced.
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-27244-1
Page Count: 20
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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