ELLA MCKEEN, KICKBALL QUEEN

Name: ELLA MCKEEN, KICKBALL QUEEN
Author: Beth Mills
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2897-0

by Beth Mills ; illustrated by Beth Mills ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019

Readers will close this emotionally intelligent book with strong feelings—and will likely ask to hear it again and again.

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When a new girl shows up at school with kickball skills rivaling Ella McKeen’s, Ella learns how to tolerate the challenge to her queendom.

Everyone knows that when Ella kicks the ball, you get out of the way. “Her kicks have never been caught.” Whether it’s the “zinger,” the “bouncer,” or the “bomb,” Ella’s kicks send everybody running. But one day, the new girl, Riya Patel, races toward the falling ball. When she actually catches it, everyone cheers—except for Ella, who doesn’t handle the disappointment very well. In fact, she dissolves into a crying, screaming fit right there on the field. Everyone stares. She thinks about this moment for the rest of the day. The next day, when they’re heading out for recess, Ella opens up to Riya, apologizing for her behavior and explaining her surprise. The two form a friendly rivalry that promises to continue beyond the book’s cliffhanger end. Ella’s physical and emotional feelings are well-described and utterly recognizable. Her tantrum makes readers stop in their tracks, and her turnaround is believable enough to satisfy. Clean, expressive illustrations use white space, perspective, and display type to enhance the experience. Ella, white-presenting with long ponytails, wears overalls, and dark-skinned South Asian Riya wears skirts and leggings.

Readers will close this emotionally intelligent book with strong feelings—and will likely ask to hear it again and again. (Picture book. 4-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-5415-2897-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Carolrhoda

Review Posted Online: May 21, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MISSING HAMSTER
by Sue Fliess ; illustrated by Beth Mills

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)