A charming introduction to a life that will be unfamiliar to most readers.
Based on the history of a real Acadian fishing family who settled on Prince Edward Island in 1799, this picture book, set in the 1970s, tells the true story of Rocky, one of 13 children, who loved to fish.
Young Rocky feels confined and bored at school, but Dad won’t let the boy come on the boat with him until his feet can fill the family boots. The day finally comes for him to join his father and big sister on the lobster boat. Rocky has the “salt bad in [his] veins,” as his father says, and when he’s finally on the boat sailing out of the harbor, he “feels as free as a seagull.” He learns all the tricks of the trade from Dad and sister Patsy, and he even gets to steer the boat. At the end of the day Rocky falls asleep and dreams of “a world where there are no walls, and he feels free.” Seasoned author Carter’s imaginative text captures the simplicity and wonder of maritime life as seen through the eyes of a child, not unlike Robert McCloskey in his classic Time of Wonder. Dumas’ soft watercolors paint an authentic picture of hard island life, where families are at the mercy of the sea and the fishing trade. The cast is all evidently white, but the centering of French-Canadian characters adds pleasing ethnic diversity.
A charming introduction to a life that will be unfamiliar to most readers. (author’s note, glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77306-097-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
Another empowering outing led by a dynamic young role model.
The third title in the Ambitious Girl series finds young Maya wanting accomplished women to get their due.
On a school trip to Washington, D.C., brown-skinned, bubble-braided Maya is full of questions, among them “How many representatives are there?” and, while checking out the statues and monuments, “Where are all the women?” Maya’s teacher tells her that they’ve seen all the “popular” statues and monuments. Maya is as dogged (“But what about Eleanor Roosevelt? Or Mary McLeod Bethune?”) as her teacher is dismissive: “Those aren’t on my list.” (Maya’s teacher follows the same list every trip.) Back at home, Maya is newly awakened to the lack of female representation in her orbit—she notices that streets and “even her own school” are named for men. Is there anything she can do about this? Maya’s teacher’s cluelessness feels a bit implausible, more like a plot device to steer the story in the right direction, but Maya’s righteous indignation is believable, and her corresponding activism will energize readers. Valdez gets into the spirit of things with her invigorating digital art: Maya and her multiethnic classmates and neighbors are colorful dressers with smiling faces, which fosters a sense that wherever Maya goes, a warm and ebullient community is there for her.
Another empowering outing led by a dynamic young role model. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780316561341
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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