The creators of Grandfather Gandhi (2014) return with a lesson about the complex foundations of violence in our world.
Life for young Arun in the ashram, or "service village," includes many chores. All work for the good of the group, doing basic tasks such as growing food or spinning thread. While these endeavors clearly affect comfort and survival, the benefits of some of the expectations held by his grandfather Mohandas K. Gandhi are less tangible. Arun Gandhi speaks directly to readers, explaining that he struggled particularly with the idea that waste and violence were linked. Through conversation and the creation of a visual aid, his Bapuji helps him to conceptualize the connection and to see that all actions are interrelated. Gandhi and Hegedus' relatively lengthy text is alternately direct and lyrical. Abstract concepts, sophisticated vocabulary, and philosophical explanations may slow some readers down, though unfamiliar words can generally be understood in context. Turk's striking mixed-media illustrations feature vivid colors and varying textures and include decorative stitching that evokes Indian textiles. Exaggerated, stylized shapes and intriguing perspectives complement the complexity of the ideas being explored and illuminate the subdued action of the text.
Decidedly and deliberately didactic, the book aims to spark action on the part of listeners, making it a title best shared by adults who are interested in the topic and motivated to continue the conversation. (authors’ note) (Informational picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4265-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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BOOK REVIEW
Ryan Hart is navigating the fourth grade and all its challenges with determination.
Her mom named her Ryan because it means “king,” and she wanted Ryan to feel powerful every time she heard her name; Ryan knows it means she is a leader. So when changes occur or disaster strikes, budding chef Ryan does her best to find the positive and “make sunshine.” When her dad is laid off from the post office, the family must make adjustments that include moving into a smaller house, selling their car, and changing how they shop for groceries. But Ryan gets to stay at Vernon Elementary, and her mom still finds a way to get her the ingredients she needs to practice new recipes. Her older brother, Ray, can be bossy, but he finds little ways to support her, especially when she is down—as does the whole family. Each episodic chapter confronts Ryan with a situation; intermittently funny, frustrating, and touching, they should be familiar and accessible to readers, as when Ryan fumbles her Easter speech despite careful practice. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and Watson continues to bring visibility to both Portland, Oregon, generally and its Black community specifically, making another wonderful contribution that allows Black readers to see themselves and all readers to find a character they can love.
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet! (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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A rescued dog saves an unhappy, silent boy in this gentle story about families, fears and courage.
As she did most recently in Waiting for the Magic (2011), Newbery Medalist MacLachlan shows the support that pets can provide. Zoe’s mother fosters abandoned Great Pyrenees dogs. But when Jack, a new dog, runs away, 9-year-old Phillip, a new neighbor, runs after him. He gets lost, but the dog leads him to a barn where they shelter from a night of rain and hail. Phillip’s parents are having problems; he’s staying for a while with a childless aunt and uncle with little experience with children or dogs, and he won’t talk to anyone. Zoe’s family, on the other hand, is close, chatty and compassionate. They care for each other and for their rescued animals: not only the massively shedding white dogs, but also an African grey parrot whose favorite phrase is “You can’t know.” True. There is much you can't know about people and animals both, and much you don’t know, still, after the story ends. Zoe recalls the experience in a narrative occasionally interrupted by ruminative, present-tense glimpses of Zoe with the dogs at night and summed up in her little sister Alice’s concluding journal entry. The spare prose and extensive dialogue leaves room for the reader’s imagination and sympathy. Beautifully told, quietly moving and completely satisfying. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2171-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2013
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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