A picture book that celebrates African-American girls’ hair.
Williams’ debut describes what happens when Penny asks her mother if she can take out her braids and wear her hair down like her white friends. Her mom explains that her hair is different from her friends’ hair but that there’s nothing wrong with this. Mom shows Penny pictures of many hairstyles, and Penny opts for two magic puffballs. When Penny wears her hair in the two fluffy pigtails, she has a banner day. She finds her favorite purple pencil, aces her spelling test, and at recess, she manages to jump rope better than she ever has before. She’s sure that her new hairstyle has given her these powers and tells her mom she wants to wear it that way every day. Colorful, cartoonlike illustrations portray Penny and her friends and help to bring Penny and her hair to life in a fresh style that never looks babyish. The book opens with a short message to parents and closes with a photo collage of real girls all sporting their own magic puffballs. Williams offers a positive message about black hair and a likable character in Penny; however, Penny faces little conflict. After the initial dilemma of her friends’ asking her to wear her hair down, it’s all smooth sailing for Penny thanks to her new do. Though nervous about a spelling test, the magic of her hairstyle means, “She didn’t have to think too hard. Even the tricky words just came to her—like magic!” More struggle would have added some welcome realism.
Younger readers will enjoy this wish-fulfillment tale, while parents will appreciate the upbeat way it celebrates differences.
Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-0991212903
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Glori Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.
Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.
Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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