Holiday hijinks worthy of a standing ovation.
All of Gumbling is a stage as a holiday play challenges Nell and her friends.
In this charming third series entry, Nell and her friends are preparing for the Christmas-like holiday of Feszht by putting on a classic holiday musical, The Land of Toysensweetz (which is reminiscent of The Nutcracker). When Nell, who appears white, learns that she must co-direct the play with her archivist boss Birdneck’s grandson, Sam, she isn’t pleased—confident, exuberant Sam comes across as bossy and talks over her. Slowly, everything descends into chaos: The actors require a lot of attention, Nell’s busy BFF is in the play but not fully present, the chorus members feel underappreciated, and two ghosts haunt the theater. When the kids learn that their Feszht production will be broadcast live on TV, the stakes grow even higher. Naturally quiet Nell feels eclipsed by extroverted Sam, but as their dramatic tension grows, something romantic seems to be bubbling beneath the surface. Steinkellner’s latest installment is a gem, full of cozy whimsy but touching on some very real and important topics, like overscheduling and the importance of listening to others. The merging of Gumbling with our world (Black-presenting Sam and his family are from Chicago) makes the work even more accessible and will leave readers wishing Gumbling were real. The supporting cast shows a delightfully diverse and inclusive range of skin tones, heights, and body sizes.
Holiday hijinks worthy of a standing ovation. (Graphic fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9780593570746
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
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
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short.
In the dystopian, totalitarian world of 2099, 14-year-old Tessa and her family are desperate to solve the mystery of her twin brother Theo’s disappearance.
Tessa is growing up in a time when playgrounds are historical relics, surveillance cameras are everywhere, music is outlawed, and owning books is illegal. Under the absolute rule of Zokiris, the decadeslong leader of her territory, people are heavily controlled. When Theo vanishes under mysterious circumstances and his name is erased from the Territory Statistics list, Tessa’s 135-year-old neighbor, Miriam, gives the family contraband books that become central to figuring out Theo’s whereabouts. Most books have long since been seized and stored away in Building 903; Tessa is intrigued by their presence in her home, while her mother is terrified. Lowry, the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Giver (1993), shines in her creation of uncomfortably believable dystopian societies. Tessa’s painfully limited world is fully imagined, with its own history, laws, and norms. Her relationship with her brother reads as realistic and tender and is crucial to the mystery. Miriam is the most strongly developed character: wise and independent, unafraid and hopeful. While the climb to the book’s climax is captivating, the hurried resolution is disappointing. The powerful messaging around the importance of literature and imagination certainly resonates, however. The main characters present white.
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short. (Dystopian. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780063515109
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
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