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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
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| 33607002874017 | Picture Books | VAIL | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Readers first met Katie Honors in Rachel and Yumi's Sometimes I'm Bombaloo and Jibberwillies at Night. Now Katie is back as she deals with feeling "flabbersmashed" by her best friend, who suddenly wants to be friends with another kid. We've all been flabbersmashed by a friend--left out of an activity or secret, left to feel sorry for ourselves, or move on. Will Katie ever stop feeling left out?
Author Notes
Rachel Vail, born on July 25, 1966 in Manhattan. She is an author of children's and young adult books. She grew up in New Rochelle, New York, and is a graduate of Georgetown University. Her debut novel Wonder won an Editor's Choice award from Booklist in 1991, and in 1992 her second novel, Do-Over, won that award also. She has authored several series which include Friendship Ring, Mama Rex and T, If We Kiss, and Avery Sisters Trilogy.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Self-described as a "really friendly kid" who goes on "lots of playdates," Katie Honors, protagonist of Sometimes I'm Bombaloo! (2002) and Jibberwhillies at Night (2008, both Scholastic), characteristically gives a straight-talking exploration of how it feels when her best friend's allegiance momentarily shifts to someone else. Jennifer decides to build forts and "kill the bad guys" with Roy on the playground, leaving Katie feeling flabbersmashed-and alone. Boiling with anger, she resorts to physical interference ("I chopped their hands apart") and yelling when Jennifer and Roy line up together after recess. Meanwhile, classmate Arabella, "who just moved here and hardly talks at all," stands alone and quietly offers her hand to Katie. and a not-exactly-the-same, but promising, friendship takes root. Young children will relate to Katie's thoughts and emotions, the range and intensity of which are effectively mirrored in varied design perspectives, font sizes, and colors. Bold strokes of thick, textured paint render the playground setting and youngsters' faces and feelings in childlike simplicity; the attractive textile patterns in their clothing easily define each character. This is a fresh, inviting, and altogether useful presentation of a perennial childhood predicament from a familiar, trusted source-Katie Honors.-Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In their third journey through the emotional states of heroine Katie Honors (following Sometimes I'm Bombaloo and Jibberwillies at Night), Vail and Heo look at what happens when a best friend suddenly turns cold. One day, Katie and Jennifer are inseparable ("Lots of times, we dress alike. Our hands fit perfectly together"); the next day, Jennifer has picked Roy-who likes to "play warriors... and kill bad guys"-to be her "walk-in-from-recess" buddy. As with the previous books, Vail coins an aurally vivid portmanteau (flabbersmashed) to describe Katie's psychic cocktail of bewilderment, anger, and sense of abandonment. Heo's colorful childlike drawings effortlessly veer from the opening pages' idylls of friendship into harrowing psychological maelstroms: when Katie first receives Jennifer's casual rejection, the playground is transformed into a vast sea of midnight blue that threatens to engulf her. Vail fully inhabits Katie's mind and emotions and with prose like "my whole self felt like a bruise" gives readers yet another way to describe and think about feelings that are sometimes difficult to put into words. Ages 4-8. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.