An admirable vehicle for introducing readers to the subject of homelessness.
Stuck between his perfect older sister and cheerful and adorable little brother, a misbehaving middle child takes on a challenge that leads to change.
Hector is a troubled 10-year-old, frequently stuck in detention and bullying others for the admiration of his friends. Hector’s first-person narration takes readers inside his thought processes as he impulsively takes a shopping cart holding the possessions of a homeless man named Thomas, accidentally dumping it into a nearby lake. Meanwhile, thieves have been stealing statues throughout London, leaving clues implicating homeless people. These two storylines become intertwined as Hector mistakenly blames Thomas for the crimes. The repercussions draw Hector out of his selfish world: To fix the mess he has created, he needs the begrudging help of Mei-Li, his teacher’s-pet classmate. Together, the unlikely threesome of Hector, Mei-Li, and Thomas discovers the thieves’ patterns, but who will believe them? Raúf unpacks the problem of labeling people, helping Hector to see beyond appearances, including his own view of himself. The importance of trying to catch the thieves in the act quickens the pace and results in a tidy ending with a clear moral message. Hector’s personal growth remains a work in progress. Thomas and his community of friends are portrayed with respect and dignity. Mei-Li presents as Chinese; Hector and Thomas are racially indeterminate.
An admirable vehicle for introducing readers to the subject of homelessness. (bullying information and resources, guide to chapter heading symbols, author's note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-38202-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Poignant and heartwarming.
Zephyrina the cat, the “Robin Hood of felines,” rescues discarded toys so they can have new lives.
Zephyrina brings toys back to the apartment she shares with Elizaveta and her daughter, Dasha, refugees from war-torn Ukraine. Dasha reconditions Zephyrina’s rescues and sets them outside for three days, just in case they have owners who want to reclaim them. Afterward, they join the other toys in the parlor—the Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured. Dasha and Elizaveta don’t know that the toys are sentient. At midnight they abandon their rigid daytime postures to cavort and play, overseen by their leader, Pocket, a tiny mascot bear made to comfort soldiers during World War I. One night, Zephyrina brings back a dirty old bear, and Pocket is astounded. The new arrival, Berwon, might come from a lost shipment of the first-ever stuffed bears, sent from Germany to the U.S. in 1903—and if so, he’s worth a fortune. In the ensuing antics, the unpleasant villain Picky Vicky covets Berwon, and a kind museum curator does, too, but for different reasons. Applegate’s writing is exquisitely nuanced; she couches profound themes in accessible language that depicts relatable situations. Gentle, generous Elizaveta and Dasha poignantly underscore the human impact of wars. Santoso’s enchanting, delicate, black-and-white illustrations bring the timeless feeling of a classic to this hopeful, humanizing story of the distressed looking out for each other.
Poignant and heartwarming. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9781250904362
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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