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
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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