A heartbreaking but essential perspective on war and survival.
A picture-book adaptation of the Sibert Honor book Sachiko: A Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivor (2016).
No one knows where Grandmother’s bowl came from, but everyone knows that it is precious. Passed down from mother to daughter, Grandmother’s bowl sits, full of food, in the middle of young Sachiko Yasui’s family table. Before every meal, everyone bows their heads and whispers, “itadakimasu,” or “we humbly receive this food.” As soldiers and sounds of war move into Nagasaki, Japan, Grandmother’s bowl holds less and less, but still, they express their gratitude. One day when Sachiko is playing outside, an enemy bomber approaches, and Nagasaki is destroyed. Forced to leave, Sachiko’s family experiences loss and sickness over the next few years before they return to Nagasaki. Digging through the rubble, Father finds Grandmother’s bowl without a chip or crack. Each year they fill Grandmother’s bowl to remember those they’ve lost and to pray for peace. Stelson shares this true story with young readers through a thoughtful, moving text. Kusaka’s illustrations are powerful and vivid, bringing readers into Sachiko’s experiences and emotions. Their chalky, weathered texture helps to keep the terrifying two-spread sequence that depicts the bombing from completely overwhelming readers. Text and art work together to show the devastating, lasting consequences of war and to convey a message of hope and peace for the future.
A heartbreaking but essential perspective on war and survival. (author’s note, photos, illustrator’s note, further reading) (Picture book/biography. 6-11)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2148-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A solid base hit, with guidance on the great American pastime—and life itself.
Actor Renna, best known for his role in the 1993 film The Sandlot, offers baseball-themed anecdotes and affirmations.
Heartfelt reminders that life’s a marathon, not a sprint, may be familiar, but many young readers will find them revelatory. The author also stresses that failure is just as much a part of life as success, encourages children to embrace individuality and work hard despite being the underdog, and emphasizes that practice shows commitment and “prepares you for the big game or the test.” All these lessons will be relatable to young people, and many are supported by real-life stories: basketball superstar Michael Jordan’s short-lived stint in minor league baseball, an unexpected victory during Game One of the 2015 World Series, and Renna’s willingness to swallow his fear when, as a young teen, he was handed a new script just an hour before shooting a pivotal scene in The Sandlot. Each tidbit stands alone, but taken together, all 20 tenets provide a lively road map to life. The colorful spot art features images of diverse young baseball players, plus some visually appealing double-page spreads filled with movement and action. White space is used thoughtfully, allowing readers to reflect on how these words of wisdom might apply to them.
A solid base hit, with guidance on the great American pastime—and life itself. (Informational picture book. 7-11)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780593754870
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40.
From two Nobel Peace Prize winners, an invitation to look past sadness and loneliness to the joy that surrounds us.
Bobbing in the wake of 2016’s heavyweight Book of Joy (2016), this brief but buoyant address to young readers offers an earnest insight: “If you just focus on the thing that is making / you sad, then the sadness is all you see. / But if you look around, you will / see that joy is everywhere.” López expands the simply delivered proposal in fresh and lyrical ways—beginning with paired scenes of the authors as solitary children growing up in very different circumstances on (as they put it) “opposite sides of the world,” then meeting as young friends bonded by streams of rainbow bunting and going on to share their exuberantly hued joy with a group of dancers diverse in terms of age, race, culture, and locale while urging readers to do the same. Though on the whole this comes off as a bit bland (the banter and hilarity that characterized the authors’ recorded interchanges are absent here) and their advice just to look away from the sad things may seem facile in view of what too many children are inescapably faced with, still, it’s hard to imagine anyone in the world more qualified to deliver such a message than these two. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48423-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
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