The Horn Book Guide

Guide/Reviews Database

YOUNGER FICTION

Springstubb, Tricia

Cody and the Heart of a Champion

151 pp. | Candlewick | April, 2018 | Trade ISBN 978-0-7636-7921-7 $14.99

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. In Cody's fourth book, she learns that not everything can be counted on to remain as it was and that unexpected new things may be unpleasant--e.g., best friends move away or get caught up with other classmates. This thoughtful and sometimes very funny chapter book takes the everyday crises of childhood seriously but without over-the-top drama, and the third-person-limited narration allows room for readers' own musings on life's transformations.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018