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JOSEPH THE DREAMER

Name: JOSEPH THE DREAMER
Author: Becky Laff
ISBN: 978-1-4677-7845-9

by Becky Laff ; illustrated by Becky Laff ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2016

A lively version of a biblical story of wisdom, wits, treachery, and repentance.

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The Old Testament story of Joseph, the brother sold into slavery who becomes the pharaoh’s grand vizier, is interpreted in graphic-novel format.

Laff retains the familiar elements of the tale, laying them out in graphic panels. Joseph has special dreams and also becomes an interpreter of dreams. All his brothers are jealous of Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son, leading to his sale to some Ishmaelite traders. He is taken to Egypt, where he becomes useful in a wealthy merchant’s household but is compromised by the merchant’s wife and sent to prison. After nine years, Joseph interprets the dreams of the imprisoned butler and baker of the pharaoh. The lucky butler is released and tells the pharaoh of Joseph when the ruler has his own dreams that need interpretation. Joseph becomes the pharaoh’s top adviser, saving Egypt from famine. In her brightly colored, detailed panels Laff depicts her humans as anthropomorphic animals: the Canaanites, or Hebrews, are rabbits, the Ishmaelite traders are dogs, and the Egyptians are cats. They wear appropriate clothing, and the Egyptian details and backgrounds are particularly elaborate. Joseph’s well-known coat has rainbows, clouds, stars, and fur trimming; it looks an awful lot like a wizard’s cloak, but it is eye-catching, especially in a dark double-page spread, set in Joseph’s cell, when he is dreaming of the sun, moon, and stars.

A lively version of a biblical story of wisdom, wits, treachery, and repentance. (Graphic fiction/religion. 8-11)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4677-7845-9

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Kar-Ben

Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION

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WAYS TO MAKE SUNSHINE

From the Ryan Hart series , Vol. 1

by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Niña Mata ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2020

Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet!

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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. 20, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Sherry Shine

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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Bea Jackson

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THE PORCUPINE YEAR

From the Birchbark House series , Vol. 3

by Louise Erdrich ; illustrated by Louise Erdrich ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2008

The journey is even gently funny—Omakayas’s brother spends much of the year with a porcupine on his head. Charming and...

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This third entry in the Birchbark House series takes Omakayas and her family west from their home on the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker, away from land the U.S. government has claimed.

Difficulties abound; the unknown landscape is fraught with danger, and they are nearing hostile Bwaanag territory. Omakayas’s family is not only close, but growing: The travelers adopt two young chimookoman (white) orphans along the way. When treachery leaves them starving and alone in a northern Minnesota winter, it will take all of their abilities and love to survive. The heartwarming account of Omakayas’s year of travel explores her changing family relationships and culminates in her first moon, the onset of puberty. It would be understandable if this darkest-yet entry in Erdrich’s response to the Little House books were touched by bitterness, yet this gladdening story details Omakayas’s coming-of-age with appealing optimism.

The journey is even gently funny—Omakayas’s brother spends much of the year with a porcupine on his head. Charming and enlightening. (Historical fiction. 9-11)