Genuinely affecting.
A frightened child and a migration of butterflies share the same perilous path toward sanctuary.
The dual narrative follows two Mariposas—a young girl (accompanied by a caregiver) and a group of monarchs (“mariposa monarca” in Spanish)—as each undertakes a terrifying trip through mountain ranges, “relentless rain,” predator-filled darkness, and a disorienting city before reaching safety. The parallel is poetic in concept, but Medina’s spare prose favors mood over clarity, leaving younger audiences to work hard to grasp the parallels between the two journeys. An author’s note provides essential context connecting human displacement, climate change (which threatens both butterflies and humans), and monarch conservation. The book’s real triumph belongs to Martinez-Neal’s illustrations; her use of colored pencil, acrylic, and pastel produces spreads of deep emotionality. The palette shifts well—warm sepia tones yield to threatening charcoal darkness, then give way to blues before resolving in amber warmth—while the monarch butterflies that populate nearly every spread blaze with vivid orange, providing continuity and hope even in the most forbidding compositions, their wings burning like embers against the darkness. In the artwork, the dark-haired, dark-eyed Mariposa (who has skin the color of the page) is small, hunched, and frightened, set against vast, indifferent landscapes, conveying vulnerability with heartbreaking economy. Most remarkable is a transcendent spread in which the girl literally becomes a mariposa herself—winged and airborne—entirely blurring the boundary between child and butterfly.
Genuinely affecting. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780316168571
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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