Dog Days

October 7, 2013
English returns to Carver Elementary, the setting of her Nikka and Deja books, in this strong kickoff to her Carver Chronicles series. This time, the protagonist is new student Gavin, whose cool-kid potential (namely his basketball and skateboard skills) is undermined by his family. His parents don’t allow him to play “overly violent” video games, and his older sister, Danielle, calls him mortifying nicknames like Gavmeister. Both of these horrors are revealed when Gavin’s new friend, Richard, comes over, a visit that ends with the boys accidentally breaking Danielle’s prized snow globe. In order to pay back his sister, Gavin earns money by walking his great-aunt Myrtle’s cranky and extremely accessorized Pomeranian, Carlotta. English captures Gavin’s realistic frustrations on the home front and the social nuances of elementary school life as he struggles to fit in without compromising himself (“Gavin doesn’t know if he likes that Deja girl. She reminds him too much of his sister”). Freeman’s upbeat spot illustrations and English’s accessible storytelling target the book to emerging independent readers. Ages 6–9. Illustrator’s agent: Bernadette Szost, Portfolio Solutions.

October 15, 2013
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility. Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin's desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. "After all, it isn't his fault that Danielle's snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn't have been in her room--but then, she shouldn't be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!" opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle's yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener. This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here's hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)

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