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196 pp.
| Random
| August, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-553-51036-2$16.99
|
LibraryISBN 978-0-553-51037-9$19.99
|
EbookISBN 978-0-553-51039-3
(1)
4-6
With his dad out of work, Beans Curry (Turtle in Paradise) begins working for a local rumrunner. Beans's earnest voice shows a young boy trying to help out but getting caught up in dubious circumstances. This standalone prequel's short episodic chapters adroitly incorporate the historical background and flavor of Key West during the Great Depression, but never at the expense of character or story. Reading list, websites.
Reviewer: Betty Carter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2016
180 pp.
| Amazon
| January, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7614-6227-9$16.99
(3)
4-6
In 1959 Idaho, all Freedom Jane McKenzie wants to do is beat the boys at marbles. But her pregnant mother thinks she should be more ladylike, and her father isn't very supportive, especially when he drinks. And her best friend Daniel is suddenly treating her differently. This likable story about mild rebellion, family, and growing up has a heroine readers will cheer.
(1)
K-3
In this third early reader about Penny, she spies a marble on Mrs. Godwin's lawn. "The marble seemed to say, 'Take me home.'" And Penny does, as the illustrations show that she clearly knows this is something she shouldn't do. A respect for the early reader's emerging skills beautifully matches Henkes's respect for Penny and this common crisis of childhood.
Reviewer: Betty Carter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2013
58 pp.
| Candlewick
| August, 2006
|
TradeISBN 0-7636-2605-8$13.99
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Abby Carter.
In their second book, Andy and Dolores try (and fail) to stop neighborhood vandals from smashing the Halloween pumpkins on Dolores's front porch. The characters' complexity, revealed in simple text with natural language, is the strength of this book. Soft watercolor pencil and wash sketches outline the plot; spot art depicting potentially unfamiliar vocabulary provides an extra boost for beginning readers.
Reviewer: Betty Carter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2006
47 pp.
| Holt
| September, 2000
|
TradeISBN 0-8050-6387-0$$16.00
(4)
1-3
Illustrated by
Ben Caldwell.
Mean Spencer Ross offers to sell his crystal mumbo jumbo marble to Tommy for ten dollars. Tommy ponders a number of schemes to obtain it, including peddling flowers to a neighbor and swapping a garter snake for the marble. The story line, like the accompanying line art, seems dated and rather bland, but the relationship between Tommy and his tagalong brother Bradley is appealing.