Kiddo

by Cynthia Nugent (Illustrator)

Katherine Wisteria Warble (otherwise known as Kiddo) knows her family depends on her for information. Kiddo devours the Town Crier newspaper for its news, contests, community events, Caring Carol's advice column and the annoying opinions of the Junior Journalist. When she grows up, she is going to be the publisher, but first she needs to wrest the title of Junior Journalist away from the irritating Jeremy ("Germ") Marroon. Can Kiddo get enough community points, improve her spelling enough and stay out of trouble long enough to become the next Junior Journalist? Definitely! But first she has to find a boyfriend for her sister, Pat, fix a little misunderstanding that lands her in jail, nab the real thief and help Ma win a talent contest.

Genres: Canada

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2019

Reviews

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I wanted to love this, I struggled with the beginning of it. I ended up infatuated, but am not sure that readers will put the effort into getting to that point. It reminded me of Homer Price by Robert McCloskey. There is plenty of humour in this tale of a young girl, Katherine Wisteria Warble (Kiddo), who wants, more than anything, to be next years Junior Reporter for the local newspaper. In order to qualify she has to acquire a certain number of points over the summer holiday. The novel is composed of her different attempts to get them.
While there is plenty of situational humour, the quirkily authentic characters add to it. Other than Jeremy ("Germ") Marroon, Kiddo's arch nemesis, and then a nasty adult, they are full of sweetness. Kiddo, who is liable to act before thinking, is especially delightful. She's a great story teller, but can't spell worth a darn. (Maybe I liked her so much because I still have trouble with spelling.)
The novel is set in the 1960's although it takes a while to figure this out. (I wish this time frame had been established more clearly earlier on) I especially appreciated how the novel dealt with social issues of the time: the struggles of women and girls, and the ignorance of previous historical wrongs like Japanese Internment. I only wish there could have been some connection to indigenous issues. As a child growing up in these years, maybe we were not truly aware, but I had friends who were part of the 50's & 60's scoop.

[Kari Rust · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my ten-year-old and she got a big kick out of it - so did I. The main character, Kiddo, is believable and funny. Her family is quirky and loving. Many chapters involve small-town adventures that provided excitement and suspense for my daughter as well as a lot of laughter. Other parts are more "quiet" depicting the daily life of the family members and their eccentricities. The pacing is great. The comic timing and the tone are just right for Kiddo's point of view. One of the charming things about the story is that it takes place in the mid 1960s (you have to read for a while to figure this out). Expressive pencil illustrations by the author add extra humour. My daughter said that Kiddo is "epic" and she is hoping for a sequel.

[Meg]

classic middle grade hijinks, super diverse neighbourhood, specific Canadian historical issues (Japanese internment) non-specific child safe town.