A feel-good but vague attempt at cultivating an appreciation for U.S. history.
The titular character of America’s Dreaming (2024) returns for a class trip to the nation’s capital.
Amid the other students’ grousing (“My dad says all they do in Washington is fight”), America’s teacher Mr. Downs urges the youngster to find examples of how complaints have had positive effects in history. As the children visit typical landmarks—the Supreme Court, the Lincoln Memorial (“where people often come to complain together”)—America hears whispers of wisdom from historical figures such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Lessons about making change for the better reverberate with America, who later shares lunch with a classmate who didn’t bring one. While the overall tone is uplifting, McKinnon’s stiff text often relies on stilted turns of phrase (“We should always stand with anybody who stands right”). Discussions of significant figures and eras are oversimplified; readers will need background knowledge on, for instance, segregation in order to understand the impact of Marian Anderson’s 1939 performance on the Lincoln Memorial steps, and those unfamiliar with Roosevelt likely won’t be moved by his words on “the test of progress.” Nor does the author’s note provide further context. Phuong’s illustrations set a breezy tone with a muted earth-toned palette, depicting historical figures in ghostly blue. America’s class is diverse, and Mr. Downs is light-skinned; America isn’t portrayed (scenes are instead presented from the protagonist’s point of view).
A feel-good but vague attempt at cultivating an appreciation for U.S. history. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9780593658819
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Potent and deeply moving.
Acclaimed artist Smith honors Cooke’s legendary song with 1960s-inspired art.
A Black child spies a camera floating on a plank in the river near the shack where he lives, and when he grows up and migrates to a city, he brings the camera with him. Paired with lyrics from Cooke’s song—long considered a Civil Rights Movement anthem—scenes of urban life follow: signs proclaiming segregation, the funeral of Medgar Evers (an activist murdered in 1963 Mississippi), Lyndon Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law as Martin Luther King Jr. looks on, people gathering for the March on Washington, a re-creation of a photo depicting Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali sitting at a lunch counter, and other milestones in the fight for racial justice. The man with the camera is present at many of these moments; a touching final spread portrays a Black child looking through photographs of those very scenes. Smith’s signature painting style lends energy to the pages with formidable linework, superb use of darkness and light, and strong compositions, inviting readers to linger, parse the images, and discuss what’s going on. Less a read-aloud and more a window into history, this work offers a rich opportunity to introduce the topic to young people through art, music, personalities, events, and emotions, over multiple exposures. Detailed backmatter supports comprehension.
Potent and deeply moving. (note from the estate of Sam Cooke, illustrator’s note, featured historical events and figures, QR code linking to a recording of “A Change Is Gonna Come”) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781499816150
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
PROFILES
Uplifting.
Clark-Robinson celebrates the ways in which women have opened doors for the girls and women coming after them.
Two women, one elderly and one younger, sit a girl down with tea and photographs to tell her stories of how “our mothers and all those who’ve gone before, / paved a freer path and opened a wider door.” The walls of this Black family’s home are covered in framed photographs of diverse historical and contemporary women who made their marks in the worlds of art, sports, politics, and more. As the women encourage the girl to “speak [the] names” of those who came before and recognize that they stand on the shoulders of those women, the art transitions from their home to full spreads showing the heroes in action. Toward the end, as the text repeats praise for the women leaders, the art shows the family framing a photograph of themselves and hanging it on the wall, placing them in the line of strong women as the question is posed to the girl: “Who will stand on YOURS?” Many of the icons in the images will be recognizable to informed readers, overlaying the text’s general message onto specific examples of excellence. Backmatter provides a sentence introducing each figure beneath her portrait, offering an opportunity for readers to “speak their names.” Though perhaps overly hopeful in its depiction of women’s unity across racial lines, this book achieves the effect of an intergenerational embrace. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at 22.2% of actual size.)
Uplifting. (author’s note, illustrator’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-35800-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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