A warm tale of family and friendship.
A girl with Down syndrome fears that her older brother is getting married.
Ten-year-old Ellie Anderson loves hanging with her brother, 15-year-old Ben. But lately, he’s been too busy with work and soccer to pay her much attention. He becomes even more preoccupied when he starts hanging out with new neighbor Sara and inviting her to outings that should be special just for Ben and Ellie, like their nature hike and the upcoming Ability Center dance. Worse, Ellie’s best friend, Ling, informs her that Ben and Sara are getting married: Ling’s marriage list says so. The list names six steps toward marriage, including hand-holding and kissing—and Ben and Sara are working their way through those steps. Ellie and Ling hatch a scheme to stop Ben from reaching step six: marrying Sara and moving to Hawaii. But the plan only causes hurt feelings, just when Ellie and Ben need to band together to save Ellie’s beloved backyard willow from being cut down by their parents so their magician dad will have room to build a workshop. Artistic, mischievous, and empathetic, Ellie is delightfully nuanced; Rogers’ illustrations readily convey her many emotions. Seabolt matter-of-factly portrays Ellie’s challenges, such as speech difficulties and “spaghetti noodle” muscles, and readers will root for her as she discovers her strengths and faces her fears. Ellie’s supportive family is heartening. Most characters read white; Ling is Chinese American.
A warm tale of family and friendship. (Down syndrome facts) (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781915244727
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Lantana
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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