This series spinoff still brings the magic.
Meet Lucy Lancaster, best friend of series superstar Heidi Heckelbeck.
Though Heidi appears in this book, along with the girls’ other BFF, Bruce Bickerson, Lucy takes center stage. After Mrs. Welli assigns Bryce Beltran to be Lucy’s science class partner, Bryce isn’t pleased—both girls wanted to work with their own friends—and all but slams her desk into Lucy’s. Lucy wishes she could have a more polite and compliant partner like Heidi or Bruce. Suddenly she begins hiccupping, and Bryce instantly becomes sweetly agreeable. This is wonderful…isn’t it? More strange things occur; Lucy’s perplexed. Then she hiccups again and inadvertently finds herself sowing classroom chaos. Ms. Egli, the alert town librarian who’s visiting the class, notices, gives Lucy a golden library card with access to the Magical Library, and helps her to understand her powers. Like Heidi (though neither girl is yet aware of the other’s gift), Lucy is a witch! Engaging characters, a well-crafted setting, and quick pacing perfectly suit the target audience; Lucy promises to be a popular series star herself. Burris’ many illustrations portray Lucy with black curls, brown skin, and star-festooned glasses. Bryce and Ms. Egli are brown-skinned; most other figures are light-skinned.
This series spinoff still brings the magic. (Early chapter book. 5-9)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781665963978
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.
The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.
Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780063329560
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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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