A well-meaning effort spoiled by problematic framing.
A peek at contemporary and historical figures with disabilities.
Holub introduces young readers to 10 racially diverse people, deeming each a “little wonder.” Subjects’ disabilities include limb difference, blindness, and Down syndrome; individuals covered have flourished in fields such as music, sports, and law. On each spread, a singsong rhyme notes the subject’s accomplishment on the verso. On the recto, two sentences provide further background, accompanied by a friendly, bobble-headed caricature. An entry on American scientist Temple Grandin notes, “This little wonder / helps us to understand / the behavior of animals / raised on farmland”; on the facing page, a smiling Grandin pats a cow as the text explains that her “sensitivity to sound and touch due to autism has helped her suggest better ways of treating animals.” Other subjects include Irish author and artist Christy Brown, who had cerebral palsy and used his toes to write and paint, and Indian American musician Sujeet Desai, the first person with Down syndrome to perform at Carnegie Hall. Illustrated with cartoon headshots, condensed nods to 15 additional figures include enslaved American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who had epilepsy, and Chinese Paralympic wheelchair fencer Alison Yu Chui Yee. Unfortunately, the author’s characterization of successful disabled people as “wonders” suggests that their achievements are surprising, casting a patronizing pall over the ensemble. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A well-meaning effort spoiled by problematic framing. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66591-206-8
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Rhymes and sturdy pages do not necessarily make a book right for toddlers; don’t expect this little book to please the...
Presidents for toddlers? Really?
Ten U.S. presidents who were anything but “little” are featured in a rhyming board book. The choice of presidents is predictable: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, Grant, both Roosevelts, Kennedy, Reagan, and Obama. On verso, a four-line stanza is accompanied by a uniformly vapid-looking presidential “portrait,” and on recto, readers find a bit of presidential trivia and a slightly more detailed illustration. Selecting presidential achievements understandable to toddlers, an almost impossible task, results in oversimplification. John Adams, best known for diplomacy and the Alien and Sedition acts, is reduced to being the first vice president and the first president to live in the White House. Some information presented as fact is actually debated by presidential scholars on both the right and left. For example, speaking of Ronald Reagan, Holub asserts, “He brought the world together both near and far.” The spread about Kennedy (“He sent our first astronaut into outer space”) features a picture of Kennedy golfing with an astronaut as his caddy—a reference that only an adult will understand.
Rhymes and sturdy pages do not necessarily make a book right for toddlers; don’t expect this little book to please the little people for whom it was ostensibly designed. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5850-4
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Like Amelia Earhart’s plane, this bare-bones rundown of history is going to fly far out of range of what is developmentally...
This “Pioneer Primer” introduces little ones to Leif Erikson, Marco Polo, Sacajwea, and more.
On the book’s first two pages, these and seven other explorers are pictured against an inaccurate world map. Holub’s serviceable rhyming couplets appear on the verso of the next 10 double-page spreads accompanied by a small portrait of the featured explorer. On the recto, there is a full-page image of the subject in action with a small one or two-sentence caption that shares further details. Roode’s brightly hued illustrations are lightheartedly goofy, turning these famous folk into bobble-head dolls with huge eyes. This does not serve these historic icons well; Matthew Henson looks anxious despite the accompanying verse declaring him “brave and bold,” and Neil Armstrong looks little older than the intended toddler audience. The final two pages include 11 additional explorers, with nods to diversity with the inclusion of Zheng He and six women, leaving a 12th spot with a question mark labeled “You!” for readers to imagine themselves in the mix. It’s hard to imagine many in the diapered audience who will have enough understanding of exploration or world history after this simplistic introduction to take advantage of that invitation, though.
Like Amelia Earhart’s plane, this bare-bones rundown of history is going to fly far out of range of what is developmentally appropriate for toddlers. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7175-6
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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