FINISHED:

Spinelli, Jerry. (2007). Love, Stargirl. New York: Knopf/Random House.

[Official ACL review:

This continuation of the trials and tribulations of Stargirl, an eccentric home-schooler, picks up after she and her family have moved from Arizona to Pennsylvania. Still pining for her ex-boyfriend Leo, Stargirl embarks on a quest to keep her “happy wagon” filled with rocks while interacting with some of her new town’s array of odd supporting characters: an agoraphobic woman who hasn’t left her house in 4 years, an old man who sits at his dead wife’s grave everyday, a possible new love interest who litters, steals, and has a harem of girls following him around, and Dootsie, an over-excited 5-year old who has clung to Stargirl and her pet rat, Cinnamon, like sickeningly sweet gum on the bottom of your shoe (a stock character that we’ve seen many times before). As the book is written in letter/diary format, things get a tad monotonous and repetitive in the middle of the year – one wonders for a long time about the relevance of planting spatulas on a hill to make a sun calendar, and why Stargirl continues to tell us, in code no less, how she is putting orange halves around the neighborhood. While both of these incidences do pay off somewhat in the end, one can’t help but think that it takes much to long to get there, and it is all just a bit too eccentric and colorful for the sake of being eccentric and colorful. Fans of the first will certainly find lots to love here, and while this one stands on it’s own, it’s hard not to compare Love, Stargirl to the myriad of other novels out there with unique protagonists finding their way in a world of unique and oddball characters.]

STARTED & FINISHED:


Magoon, Scott. (2007). Hugo & Miles in: I've painted everything: An adventure in Paris. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

[Also reviewed for ACL:

Hugo is a “creative artist” who, one day, comes to the startling realization that that he has painted everything (his studio is filled with paintings of light switches, hamburgers, and bell towers). Hugo’s friend Miles, an inventor, has to fly to Paris on business, so he invites Hugo along believing that the change of scenery might offer him some inspiration. While touring some of Paris’s most famous art museums, Hugo sees the works of some of the grand painting masters, and, while on the top of the Eiffel Tower, finds inspiration in how different things look from a new angle. Adorable illustrations, done in pencil and then digitally colored, that will bring a smile to any child (or adult’s) face compliment a sweetly simple story of a painter with artist’s block. The central lesson for kids about perspective and looking at the world from different points of view is timeless and deeply important in our world today. Other touched upon concepts such as hue and impressionism could open up a larger discussion or storytime about artists and styles of art. A relative newcomer, Scott Mangoon is definitely someone to watch out for in the future.]




Odone, Jamison. (2007). Honey badgers. Honesdale, PA: Front Street/Boyds Mills Press.

[Quirky. VERY VERY quirky, and I think that I LOVE it. Yes, VERY Maurice Sendak. I bought it at the ACL meeting this week - it was on the sale table. But it looks like no one ever reviewed. I think that I may review it and label it OUTSTANDING...]

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