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WHAT THE KITE SAW

Name: WHAT THE KITE SAW
Author: Anne Laurel Carter
ISBN: 978-1-77306-243-3

by Anne Laurel Carter ; illustrated by Akin Düzakin ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021

In a word, powerful.

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The first-person account of a child living through military occupation.

Though an author’s note says the story was inspired by Palestinian children, neither text nor illustrations specify where or when it takes place. Instead, it recounts a young child’s experience when soldiers in tanks occupy their town, taking father and brother away, which leaves the child with mother and a younger sibling. (The narrator has pale skin and dark hair, as do other family members.) The illustrations employ a muted palette of somber grays and browns with limited, expressive color indicating at turns danger and hope. The town is under a strict curfew, with the ever looming threat of the occupying force, though the art keeps overt violence off the page. Powerful compositions make the menace clear, such as one that foregrounds uniformed soldiers holding assault rifles with an array of staring children in the background looking tiny by comparison. The titular kite emerges as a symbol of hope and freedom when the child leads friends in making kites to fly above their town. When soldiers shoot them down, the child cuts the string and imagines it sailing away. With that act, the child imagines seeing what the kite sees. An affecting final scene shows the winged child flying above a vision of two figures standing by the sea. They can be read as the lost father and brother or perhaps as their spirits, lending a poignant ambiguity to the story’s end. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 17.5% of actual size.)

In a word, powerful. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: May 4, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-77306-243-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Groundwood

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ROCKY WATERS
by Anne Laurel Carter ; illustrated by Marianne Dumas

- BOOK REVIEW
NIGHT BOY
by Anne Laurel Carter & illustrated by Ninon Pelletier

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SHEPHERD'S GRANDDAUGHTER
by Anne Laurel Carter

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A BIKE LIKE SERGIO'S

by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Noah Z. Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...

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Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.

This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-7636-6649-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE PURPLE PUFFY COAT
by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Daniel Duncan

- BOOK REVIEW
KAIA AND THE BEES
by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Angela Dominguez

- BOOK REVIEW
HAPPY LIKE SOCCER
by Maribeth Boelts & illustrated by Lauren Castillo

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THE COOL BEAN MAKES A SPLASH

From the I Can Read! series

by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2024

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.

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The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.

Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)