Kirkus Reviews

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)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

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. (Dec.)

ALA Booklist (Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2013)

Third-grader Gavin knows "you have to start over whenever you change schools." He has made one new friend so far chard t there is still so much his new classmates don't know yet, like that he is practically a soccer star and really good at his times tables. Gavin's attempts to fit in are further hampered when he has to spend a week walking his great-aunt Myrtle's Pomeranian so he can pay back his older sister for the snow globe he and Richard broke. How Gavin survives the week spite unwanted attention from the school bully, the undignified picking up of poop, bossy girls, a stolen chew toy, and a lack of snacks kes for a tale of small triumphs. The story is told in the present tense, which gives immediacy to the events; each injustice stings sharper, but so does each triumph feel mightier. Black-and-white spot illustrations break up the text and make this an accessible book for emerging chapter-book readers. While there is some crossover with English's previous Nikki and Deja series, this story belongs to Gavin.

Horn Book (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

English kicks off a new series, set in the same classroom as her Nikki and Deja books, starring Gavin, a new kid at Carver Elementary. Readers will identify with this character who is full of good intentions. Freeman's occasional black-and-white illustrations give readers a picture of the neighborhood. Chapter book readers have few options for reading about urban boys of color; here's hoping for more about Gavin.