It’s 1915 and Pap is in New York City, working on the construction of the subway system. He earns good money as a sandhog, but it’s backbreaking, dangerous work. Meanwhile, his family in Pennsylvania is preparing for a lonely Christmas without him. Mim and the children plan the decorations and Mim makes her mythical “belly-hum jam,” a recipe that has been passed along in her family since the slave era. It is so named because it makes your belly sing with the main ingredients of family pride and love. Pap and his sandhog colleagues, Donovan, Gilletti, and Jones cannot expect time off for Christmas because their bosses, nicknamed “Mean and Evil,” will not allow it. But a jar of Mim’s special jam arrives on the day of Christmas Eve and Pap takes it to work to share with his friends. He gives some to his bosses, who are instantly infused with the spirit of Christmas and close the dig site for the holiday. Pap and the sandhogs arrive home in time for a joyous Christmas. The author’s text is a simple evocation of a warm and loving family separated by economic necessity. The dangers and difficulties of Pap’s work are not ignored, but the emphasis is on the love and commitment of all the family members. The story flows seamlessly between rural home-life, the bustling city, and the underground work site. The happy ending is just a bit too sweet, but is entirely in keeping with the spirit of the work. An introduction presents some factual information about the construction of the New York City subway system and the work of the sandhogs, who were mainly African-Americans and immigrants. A recipe for the jam is included. The illustrator’s signature scratchboard art of heavy black outline and strong acrylic colors adds visual clarity to the stark differences between the settings. The farm scenes are bright and full of lively color. In comparison, the underground scenes are in shades of brown, with the figures of the men lit only by work lights. The Pinkneys have again succeeded in presenting a lesser-known aspect of African-American history as a moving, sensitive story with which modern young readers can identify. (Picture book. 4-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-201918-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gulliver/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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