Strong heartwood.
The titular exhortation is explained and expounded upon in spare free verse that teaches both well-established facts about trees and new revelations about their interlinked, supportive communities.
Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees (2016) has claimed yet another enthusiast among picture-book creators. This book has the advantage of lyrical, accessible poetry and vibrant watercolors from an ever changing palette. The book consists almost entirely of double-page spreads, and each page turn but one yields images of trees or parts of trees—and many show gloriously diverse children and adults enjoying their time with, under, and among equally varied kinds of trees. The initial spread repeats the book’s title on the verso as it adds on the recto: “Stand tall. / Stretch your branches to the sun.” The baobab trees that span the book’s gutter shade a small child of color, happily reaching out to the sky. The text continues to advise its readers to be trees as its metaphors become increasingly complex. One imaginative spread shows an abstraction of a tree’s pith, contrasted with a simple, representational illustration of the human circulatory system. After basic anatomy has been covered, spreads on the wonders of the sustaining “wood wide web” and the urgency of biodiversity segue cleverly into the necessity of humans gathering in community. The ending exhortation would seem sappy under less professional handling, but instead it is a proper conclusion to an argument grounded in facts and heartfelt artwork. The backmatter, including tips on saving trees and engaging in community, is excellent, too. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.3-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 55.3% of actual size.)
Strong heartwood. (author’s note, anatomy of a tree, resources) (Informational picture book. 7-12)Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4422-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
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
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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