In the new Good Health Guidelines series, a sensible, middle-of-the-road approach to nutrition. Beginning with a pep talk about how tasty healthy foods can be, Reef enlivens her well-organized presentation with portrayals of typical kids and the pressures or circumstances influencing their diets. She details the digestive process, presents the new guidelines (without defining a ``serving''), lists sources of nutrients, explains connections between diet and health, and offers young people strategies for gradually improving the quality of what they eat. Useful diagrams and attractive color photos of food and of young people preparing it contribute to the appetizing format. Also available: Think Positive: Cope with Stress (ISBN: 0-8050- 2443-3) and Stay Fit: Build a Strong Body (0-8050-2441-7). Bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-8050-2442-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1993
Jake Moon’s grandfather Skelly used to be the emotional fixer in Jake’s household, the one who soothed his hurts and helped him through hard times. But when Jake is in third grade, Skelly begins forgetting things and by the time Jake is ready to graduate from eighth grade Skelly’s Alzheimer’s has progressed to the point where he is barely aware of his surroundings. Jake learns from Skelly’s doctor that Alzheimer’s disease has three stages, “each . . . worse than the one before it,” which Jake thinks of as “(1) sad, (2) sadder, and (3) the saddest thing you’ve ever seen.” The book chronicles not only Skelly’s deterioration, but also the effect it has on Jake and his relationships with other family members and friends. As Skelly’s condition worsens, their roles reverse and Jake finds himself caring for the man who once cared for him. That, coupled with the fact that his grandfather has become a tremendous embarrassment—at a sleepover, Skelly shows up in Jake’s room without any pants or underpants, for example—causes Jake to disengage from friends and extracurricular activities. Park’s convincing first-person narration rings true, and she is particularly adept at rendering Jake’s complex emotional journey, which encompasses love, confusion, sadness, anger, embarrassment, shame, and finally acceptance. The book has some funny moments, but it’s one of Park’s darker, more poignant creations; readers expecting a Skinnybones–type laugh-a-thon will be sadly disappointed. Nonetheless, Park has produced a perceptive book that should prove useful to children who must navigate similar waters. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-83912-X
Page Count: 114
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fascinating, touching story of an off-the-grid family facing changes and the invisible threads that connect people.
Juniper Berry lives in the California woods with her family, but when her brother gets sick, they have to leave to get help.
Eleven-year-old Juniper is perfectly happy in the woods, where she learns from mom Clara and dad Zephyr in “earth school” alongside older sister Skylark and younger brother Hawk. But when Hawk becomes dangerously ill, the family goes with him to the hospital. While he recovers, they’re stuck in what Clara calls “society,” where the kids encounter cars, refrigerators, the internet, and public school. Sky and Juniper meet their uncle Parker and cousins Kori and Alayna for the first time—and move in with them. Juniper and Alayna clash: Alayna finds Juniper embarrassing, while Juniper wonders, “Why would it be bad if I acted differently from other people?” Juniper aims to make money to help pay for Hawk’s care so they can all go home to the woods, but she only succeeds once friends help. Juniper is a marvelously developed character navigating extremely uncomfortable situations. Alayna, too, is developed with depth and care; she and Clara have their “storms” (panic attacks) in common, for which they eventually get help. The family members are racially ambiguous: Juniper has light skin and light brown hair and takes after her mother; Sky and Hawk have their dad’s light brown skin and curly dark hair.
A fascinating, touching story of an off-the-grid family facing changes and the invisible threads that connect people. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9781639930999
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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