While geographically specific, this elegant narrative offers a fruitful springboard to conversations about conflict anywhere.
A fig tree in Cyprus that has shaded inhabitants from across the island feels sadness when war leads to a seemingly irreparable divide.
An omniscient narrator describes the tree “remembering” the residents, varied in skin tone, who played and picnicked nearby, enjoying the abundant fruit. The tree notes that language connected the Greek and Turkish residents; all understood the words “majilla” (large fig) and “mashallah” (an Arabic expression of appreciation). Without explanation, the narrator reports that negative words sprang up: “enemy,” “traitor.” Curious children may wonder why. The vibrant colors, stylized shapes, and swirling textures of Giles’ handmade and digital collages, which initially depicted verdant scenes dotted with cheerful pink elements, now portray war. Alliteration and metaphor heighten the drama: “Stomping boots, shuddering tanks, and stuttering gunfire shook the tree—and the island—down to the roots.” Ultimately, a north-south boundary divides the land in two; barbed wire fences prevent people from crossing. As years pass, the centrally situated tree waits, hoping that a child from each side will be drawn to again share its succulent gifts, an act that could remind residents of their commonalities. Manoli lives in Cyprus; her author’s note details the “centuries-old” fighting that led to this now-50-year division.
While geographically specific, this elegant narrative offers a fruitful springboard to conversations about conflict anywhere. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: June 17, 2025
ISBN: 9781250763136
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.
Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.
Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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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