From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-In this collection of nine sweet stories, siblings play indoors on a rainy day, go grocery shopping with mom, and watch a spider take down a web at grandmother's house. When Julia and Evan get lost at a marathon, they join up with several other children, form a marching parade, and locate their families near the finish line. In another setting, Evan takes his first bike ride without training wheels. He is soon out of control and lands in a pond. All ends well when he is rescued by a passerby and the two youngsters are treated to ice-cream cups. In another episode, kindergartner Evan is frustrated when Julia uses the Spanish words she has learned at school. After a discussion with his mother and coaxing from his sister, he decides that it might be fun to know another language. All the stories are peacefully resolved. The simple language and playful black-and-white sketches throughout make the stories perfect for independent readers, but the book will be enjoyed most as a family read-aloud.
Linda L. Plevak, Alamo Area Library System, San Antonio, TX Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
From the hilarious to the hair-raising, this beginning chapter book chronicles the capers of two curious siblings. Evan and Julia, greet each adventure--or calamity, depending upon your perspective--with enthusiasm. Their stories encompass the quirky, everyday events that inevitably occur with children, as well as a few extraordinary ones. Whatever the situation, this unflappable duo can handle it: from the myriad of ingenious uses the two think up for their new umbrellas in Cloudy with a Chance of Rain to identifying robbery suspects in Pet Store Holdup. The pragmatic tone of the narrative is in direct contrast to the outlandish events, greatly contributing to the overall humor; when Evan is hurtling towards a pond on his sister's bike, ‘Stop, bicycle!' he tells it in that second before its wheel hits the rim. But the bicycle doesn't. As far as those watching can tell, it doesn't even slow down. Up and over the rim it goes, with Evan still on it. Carpenter's (A Picnic in October, 1999, etc.) simple black-and-white sketches are sprinkled throughout the text, offering engaging vignettes for readers' perusal. The nine brief chapters function independently of each other, easily lending themselves to individual read-aloud sessions for less experienced readers. With a keen understanding of children permeating the pages and an abundance of humor and adventure, young audiences will find this one irresistible. (Fiction. 7-10) --
Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
