A heartfelt but skippable contribution.
Photographs and text describe gender identity.
Full-color images show a wide array of children—diverse in age, race, gender, and ability—grinning for the camera, playing, and posing. In a series of upbeat affirmations, the kids collectively explain that they are “courageous, / curious, creative, and proud,” with background colors subtly evoking a rainbow. The cheery narration tries to be as broadly applicable as possible but unfortunately lapses into vague tautologies such as “There’s a whole wide world of kids and different ways to be who you are—your true you.” This explanatory text transitions into speech bubbles paired with images of trans, cis, and gender-expansive youth (“When I was born, people said I was a girl. They were right!” “Nonbinary kids, like my sibling, should be treated the same way that other friends who are cisgender boys and girls are treated”). These appear to be quotations from real kids but might be manufactured dialogue. The book ends with collective narration, repeating the same message of acceptance. Extensive backmatter explores concepts and terms not touched on in the book itself. While this title tries for sweet and open-ended, it instead comes off as cloying, confusing, and directionless. Though it may be helpful for some, a more focused nonfiction text or skillfully done work of fiction could contain the same messages without being overwhelming. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A heartfelt but skippable contribution. (authors’ note, note from an educator, letters from “a grown-up trans girl” and a family, glossary, terminology, information on therapeutic support, resources and sources) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-324046-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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