by Deborah Duncan ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A
A compassionate superhero tale that highlights ways to help others.
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A boy uses his superpowers to help others in Duncan’s children’s book.
After 9-year-old Mitch’s aunt Evie asks, “If you could have a superpower, which one would you choose?,” he develops the ability to turn invisible and fly while leaving his physical body behind, like an astral projection. Using these powers, he witnesses a boy named Kyle steal a pencil case from a classmate. He soon finds out that Kyle stole it as a gift for his sad sister, and that his family lives in a shelter, on the run from his abusive father. Mitch befriends the troubled boy, and Mitch’s family grows close to Kyle’s mom and sister, as well. Although Kyle still faces challenges—he’s often absent from school, thinks about running away, and has dyslexia—his new friendship makes him feel more comfortable. Mitch continues to use his powers, keeping them hidden from everyone except Aunt Evie, who reveals that superpowers are a family trait (she communicated with animals at his age) that he’ll eventually outgrow. He notes that “maybe other kids needed help, too,” including a boy named Kenny, who’s orphaned and living with an ill-equipped uncle. As Mitch’s powers wane, he channels energy into his friendships, reading books, crafting stories, volunteering at a dog rescue, and other activities. Although Mitch’s circumstance is fantastical, it serves as a fine metaphor for how everyone can all use their unique abilities in order to help others in need. Duncan presents several portrayals of empathy and kindness that readers will find uplifting. The author also nicely models caring friendships and tight family bonds; the sense of solidarity between Aunt Evie and Mitch, for example, is particularly heartening. Although the tale is told mainly from Mitch’s viewpoint, it’s interspersed with italicized segments that effectively provide flashes of backstory and insight from others’ perspectives, including Kyle and Kenny. Bender’s colorful illustrations of various characters and events appear throughout; the chapter headings, in particular, seem to cleverly draw inspiration from comic books, with their bold black text and bright yellow shapes.
A compassionate superhero tale that highlights ways to help others.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-52-558598-2
Page Count: -
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Julia Alvarez ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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by Annie Matthew ; developed by Kobe Bryant ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 24, 2021
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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