A suitable guide to start the conversation about gun violence with children.
A young boy deals with anxiety centered on gun violence in his community.
When Miles’ father sits him and his brother down to inform them that their cousin Keisha—who’s been living with them while she attends college—has been shot and wounded during a concert at the neighborhood park, he starts to panic. Lost in this newfound worry, Miles begins to have trouble focusing in school, and his latest drawings have his teacher worried. Miles’ parents do their best to reassure him that although their neighborhood isn’t always safe, there are plenty of reasons why they shouldn’t move. As Miles’ family begins to move on, Miles is still battling his anxiety. One day, Keisha tells the family about the community efforts her friends are involved with to prevent more gun violence, prompting Miles’ parents to help. After seeing the results of his parents’ efforts at the park, Miles is compelled to inspire others with his unique set of skills. This simply stated story and the note to readers—chock-full of helpful prompts—could be useful to caregivers looking to help children through trauma. Although the majority of characters are Black, and their names are stereotypical, the authors clear up misconceptions by citing the disproportionate circumstances that lead to increases in community violence. Illustrations are reminiscent of newspaper comic strips, with wobbly lined color sketches that young artists would be inclined to replicate. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at 40.3% of actual size.)
A suitable guide to start the conversation about gun violence with children. (Picture book. 6-11)Pub Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3521-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A kind child in a book for middle-grade readers? There’s no downside to that.
Beatrice Zinker is a kinder, gentler Judy Moody.
Beatrice doesn’t want to be fit in a box. Her first word was “WOW,” not “Mom.” She does her best thinking upside down and prefers to dress like a ninja. Like Judy Moody, she has patient parents and a somewhat annoying younger brother. (She also has a perfectly ordinary older sister.) Beatrice spends all summer planning a top-secret spy operation complete with secret codes and a secret language (pig Latin). But on the first day of third grade, her best friend, Lenny (short for Eleanor), shows up in a dress, with a new friend who wants to play veterinarian at recess. Beatrice, essentially a kind if somewhat quirky kid, struggles to see the upside of the situation and ends up with two friends instead of one. Line drawings on almost every spread add to the humor and make the book accessible to readers who might otherwise balk at its 160 pages. Thankfully, the rhymes in the text do not continue past the first chapter. Children will enjoy the frequent puns and Beatrice’s preference for climbing trees and hanging upside down. The story drifts dangerously close to pedantry when Beatrice asks for advice from a grandmotherly neighbor but is saved by likable characters and upside-down cake. Beatrice seems to be white; Lenny’s surname, Santos, suggests that she may be Latina; their school is a diverse one.
A kind child in a book for middle-grade readers? There’s no downside to that. (Fiction. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-6738-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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