Skip to main content

One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street

One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street
By Joanne Rocklin
Amulet Books, 2011. 207 pages. Fiction.

Robert is an aspiring magician, Ali has a baby brother who suffers from a terminal illness, Leandra is furious at the prospect of a new baby sister, and Bunny experiences anxiety when her mother is away. These four children who have grown up together on Orange Street are in for a day of discovery and adventure. On this particular day, a stranger comes to look around the childrens' hangout, an abandoned lot that is home to the last surviving tree from their neighborhood's orange grove. The oldest person on the street, Mrs. Snoops, is the only one who might know who this strange man is. (The children call her Mrs. Snoops because she knows everything about everyone who has ever set foot on Orange Street.) The only problem is, she suffers from dementia and has trouble remembering much. Read to find out what secrets unfold!

What a superb, slice-of-life juvenile novel! The everyday, real-life details are so funny. Don't we all know an old neighborhood snoop? This is a perfect read for a beautiful summer day, or on a day when you just need some light in your life. The mystery is lighthearted but still interesting.

Comments

Marsha Judkins said…
Sounds like a super fun book--I am going to read it thanks to your review!

Popular posts from this blog

Dragon Run

Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013.  336 pgs.  Fantasy      Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life.  He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines.  Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...

Painting for Peace in Ferguson

Painting for Peace in Ferguson By Carol Swartout Klein Treehouse Publishing Group, 2015. Nonfiction. When the city of Ferguson was overrun with so much hate and despair that homes and businesses had to be boarded up to protect property, citizens of the community decided to bring a message of hope by painting the boarded windows. Klein’s rhyming text supports the photographs of the hundreds of artists and volunteers and their artwork as they bring the messages of peace, hope, love, and that by being united they can make a difference. A great book to show children how a community rallied to make a positive change and that even a small gesture can make a huge difference. A great discussion opener on how we should treat each other.

Review: We're All Gonna Die-Nosaur!

We’re All Gonna Die-nosaur! By Kon Tan  New York: Disney Hyperion, 2025. Intermediate. 157 pages.  Pterry (the “p” is silent) pterodactyl is a worry wart. Pterry is worried about flying (he doesn’t how to fly yet), dinosaurs going extinct (he had a scary dream), and how to protect his family (he has a little brother who hasn’t fully hatched from an egg yet). Even though there is a lot of feels for Pterry, this is actually quite a funny book. Pterry tries to learn how to fly with kites as his “training wheels” and his brother who is inside an egg is quite the adventurer.  This is a funny, heart-felt comic-like intermediate fiction book that will be great for many readers. If kids love dinosaurs, this book is for them. If kids like funny graphic novels, this book is for them. If kids want to read something about facing fears and doing things even though they don’t always want to, this book is for them. Plus, even though Pterry does a lot of things on his own, he still has s...