Kevin Keeps Up

September 1, 2012
A boy who just can't stay on track finds himself facing his biggest challenge ever. Like Joey Pigza before him, Kevin is an endearing and well-meaning boy who struggles mightily to focus in school. With the best of intentions, Kevin tries to keep up, but keeping his thoughts from flitting from one thing to the next is near impossible. A close third-person narrator does an impressive job taking readers along for the ride and recreating what it must feel like for Kevin as he does his best to stay on topic and write a report on cheetahs for school. Things go from bad to worse when his teacher announces she is going on an extended trip to Africa, and the dreaded Mrs. Beezer will be the one assisting the class with their animal projects. Unlike the patient Mrs. Steele, "the Buzzard" seems to believe the only way to deal with Kevin is to move his desk to the front of the room and keep him in from recess. Readers will cheer as Kevin powers through and ultimately comes up with a final project that will knock his teacher's socks off. With a winning protagonist and an enjoyable cast of characters, Kevin's story makes for a fresh and entertaining chapter book likely to please transitioning readers and give children with ADHD a character to whom they can easily relate. (Fiction. 7-10)

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October 1, 2012
Grades 2-4 At the best of times, Kevin has trouble concentrating on schoolwork. But with his supportive teacher leaving for six weeks, a less sympathetic substitute filling in, and his urgent need to find his escaped pet snake before his mother does, Kevin's attention is divided and his prospects of creating a good report on cheetahs look dim. Still, with a little support from friends and staff at school, he begins to improve in the classroom and on the field. Even readers without attention-deficit issues will relate to Kevin's problems. The occasional black-and-white illustrations are childlike line drawings and graphs purportedly created by Kevin when working on his report (cheetah seated on a rock) or distracting himself during class (anaconda coiled around a substitute teacher). While the print isn't large enough to look babyish, short sentences make the book accessible to a wide range of readers. A companion book to volumes featuring Kevin's classmates, including Tarantula Power (2007) and Dear Whiskers (2000).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
Kevin has attention difficulties and dreads doing his report on cheetahs, especially because unsympathetic "Beezer the Buzzard" is substituting while his teacher is in Africa. With help from friends, the librarian, and his gym teacher, Kevin successfully completes the assignment. Nagda's handling of ADHD is judicious, but this lively story also incorporates everyday issues of school pressures, social anxieties, and responsibilities at home.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)