Featuring more ground-level break dancing than groundbreaking narrative, this humorous children’s story puts a hip-hop spin...
“What dreams will you follow?” asks this hip-hop children’s book led by a break-dancing, rapping hippo complete with flat-top and track suit. What rhymes with perseverance?
Award-winning hip-hop artist and writer Akala has recently come to enjoy a renewed global presence with the viral status of internet videos featuring his enlightening perspectives on racism and injustice. In this picture book, he brings his supreme MC skills to the page. This tale, made especially for read-aloud or rap-aloud sessions, takes his rhyming prowess and places it in the persona of a hippo aptly named Hip, whose personal style seems to be a mashup of 1980s rap acts Run-DMC and Big Daddy Kane. The audience for his raps? None other than his bird friend Hop, who rocks sneakers and a backward-fitted cap but lacks confidence in his bike-riding abilities. How can he possibly win the Blueberry Hill bike race? Hip’s rhyming motivation can only be compared to current hip-hop standout DJ Khaled. “You can do anything if you try / You can do anything, ride or fly. / Don’t let anybody tell you no. / Focus on your dreams and go!” Readers know this story and how it ends. What news will amuse will be the spices the verse entices as it’s read aloud. Akyüz’s vibrant illustrations will push readers to stretch for those performance points.
Featuring more ground-level break dancing than groundbreaking narrative, this humorous children’s story puts a hip-hop spin on the plot staple of “practice makes perfect”—fun to read, best to rhyme. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61067-683-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
This should send Dark Knight fans flying to the Batcave—or the bedroom.
Holy bedtime, Batman!
In a sleepy-looking neighborhood under a dusky cerulean sky, a young, brown-haired, white boy goes through the motions of getting ready for bed: he brushes his teeth, takes a bath, picks up his toys, and feeds his fish. In a parallel visual narrative, beckoned by the cat's-eye–yellow bat-signal, Batman keeps Gotham safe for another night by catching crooks, locking them away, and avenging those who have been wronged. Though the two characters are quite different, through a carefully flexible narrative, Dahl and Beavers weave a convincing tale of just how similar they might be. “It’s time to take care of business” describes the child’s trip to the potty and Batman’s dive down a manhole equally well, for instance. Beavers' art is visually striking and vibrantly hued, perfect for keeping young eyes glued to each page. Dahl's economical text is cadenced with a gentle lilt, just right for a bedtime read-aloud. Young fans of the caped crusader will delight in spying their favorite characters. In the already-overstuffed bedtime-book market, this is certainly a niche read, but it hits its mark well, delivering fun without darkness. A “bedtime checklist” at the end aptly includes “story time.”
This should send Dark Knight fans flying to the Batcave—or the bedroom. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62370-732-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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