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MY BROTHER

Name: MY BROTHER
Author: Laura Djupvik
ISBN: 9781962770026

by Laura Djupvik ; translated by Martin Aitken ; illustrated by Øyvind Torseter ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2025

A sophisticated look at the process of grief.

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Loss lingers in the air.

After having a strange dream, a young girl asks her somber father to go out with her on the fjord. Though he’s reluctant, they sail onto the water and set out their fishing lines. To their shock, they catch an elongated, emaciated boy, who appears to be the girl’s recently deceased brother. After taking him back home and tending to him, the father and the young narrator get to celebrate one more night with their son and brother. The next morning, the boy walks back out to the sea; the surviving members of the family are now able to continue living their lives, though they’ll always have their memories. Originally published in Norway, this is a meditative musing on grief and the different journeys people take along the way. Torseter’s spare yet detailed illustrations effectively match the mood of the family. Earlier scenes featuring heavy crosshatching and a washed-out palette give way to spreads full of color that fill the page, showing that life eventually goes on, even after loss. Djupvik’s straightforward text captures the emotions felt while one is deep in mourning. All characters have skin the white of the page.

A sophisticated look at the process of grief. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: March 11, 2025

ISBN: 9781962770026

Page Count: 56

Publisher: Elsewhere Editions

Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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GROWING HOME

by Beth Ferry ; illustrated by Eric Fan & Terry Fan ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 27, 2025

Charming.

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An assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.

Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, old-fashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin.

Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)