A book to inspire readers to be the change they want to see in the world.
In 1972 the Chinese government gifted the people of the United States with two giant pandas. Prendergast imagines what might have happened to the pandas on their way to Washington, D.C., had the delivery not gone smoothly.
Ten-year-old Journey Wind Song lives in the Eastside, a neighborhood of Vancouver some consider a slum. To Journey, this is her community, and these are her friends. And as the book progresses, readers meet them all: the 15-year-old prostitute; the alcoholic living on the street; Nancy, her best friend; Miss Bickerstaff, the teacher whose brother has just died in Vietnam; Ben Wallace, a black American living in Canada to avoid the draft; Mr. Huang, the store owner from Taiwan; and many other beautifully portrayed characters, all seen compassionately but realistically through Journey’s eyes. And Journey? Her mom has red hair, pale skin, and freckles, while Journey has black hair that must have come from her dad, but Mom never talks about it. And then it all happens at the same time. The pandas on their way to Washington are stuck in diplomatic limbo in a warehouse in Vancouver, and the Cuban father she has never known shows up. What ensues is a community coming together to protect the pandas, inspired by a young girl’s single-minded earnestness and determination.
A book to inspire readers to be the change they want to see in the world. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1143-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Fast-paced and plot-driven.
In his latest, prolific author Gratz takes on Hitler’s Olympic Games.
When 13-year-old American gymnast Evie Harris arrives in Berlin to compete in the 1936 Olympic Games, she has one goal: stardom. If she can bring home a gold medal like her friend, the famous equestrian-turned-Hollywood-star Mary Brooks, she might be able to lift her family out of their Dust Bowl poverty. But someone slips a strange note under Evie’s door, and soon she’s dodging Heinz Fischer, the Hitler Youth member assigned to host her, and meeting strangers who want to make use of her gymnastic skills—to rob a bank. As the games progress, Evie begins to see the moral issues behind their sparkling facade—the antisemitism and racism inherent in Nazi ideology and the way Hitler is using the competition to support and promote these beliefs. And she also agrees to rob the bank. Gratz goes big on the Mission Impossible–style heist, which takes center stage over the actual competitions, other than Jesse Owens’ famous long jump. A lengthy and detailed author’s note provides valuable historical context, including places where Gratz adapted the facts for storytelling purposes (although there’s no mention of the fact that before 1952, Olympic equestrian sports were limited to male military officers). With an emphasis on the plot, many of the characters feel defined primarily by how they’re suffering under the Nazis, such as the fictional diver Ursula Diop, who was involuntarily sterilized for being biracial.
Fast-paced and plot-driven. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781338736106
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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