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WHAT IS A SCULPTURE?

Name: WHAT IS A SCULPTURE?
Author: Diane Borsato
ISBN: 9781774883013

by Diane Borsato illustrated by Laura Carlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 29, 2026

Full of warmth and whimsy, this intelligent overview will surely spark interest and the urge to create.

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A playful exploration of the many facets of a three-dimensional art form.

Borsato is a Canadian professor and visual and performance artist; Carlin is a celebrated British illustrator. Their pairing here is brilliant. The text is written in an informative but conversational style, as one might interact with students. Borsato adeptly explains the language of art—form, materials, negative space, minimalism, ephemera—as she describes examples and quotes artists. International luminaries, all of whom have created works loaded with child appeal, include Andy Goldsworthy and his natural materials, Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their wrappings, and Meret Oppenheim and her fur-covered teacup. Meanwhile, Carlin combines small toys, found objects, and her signature painted figures (who vary in skin tone) to illustrate the styles and subjects. White backgrounds provide unity and breathing space for the uncluttered, but tantalizing, page designs. Questions punctuate the narrative: Is an ice cream cone a sculpture? Discussing Thomas J. Price’s nine-foot bronze monument of a Black man, Borsato asks: “Who is celebrated and remembered in society?” She expands the notion of sculptor to include friends (one who built a stack of 199 pancakes that reached the ceiling) and readers. The author frequently invites readers to create, from building a kitty condo with cardboard boxes and recycled materials (after drawing comparisons between architecture and sculpture) to making mashups with broken toys and kitchen utensils.

Full of warmth and whimsy, this intelligent overview will surely spark interest and the urge to create. (sources, notes) (Nonfiction. 7-12)

Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026

ISBN: 9781774883013

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Tundra Books

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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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BUILDING 903

by Lois Lowry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 29, 2026

A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short.

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In the dystopian, totalitarian world of 2099, 14-year-old Tessa and her family are desperate to solve the mystery of her twin brother Theo’s disappearance.

Tessa is growing up in a time when playgrounds are historical relics, surveillance cameras are everywhere, music is outlawed, and owning books is illegal. Under the absolute rule of Zokiris, the decadeslong leader of her territory, people are heavily controlled. When Theo vanishes under mysterious circumstances and his name is erased from the Territory Statistics list, Tessa’s 135-year-old neighbor, Miriam, gives the family contraband books that become central to figuring out Theo’s whereabouts. Most books have long since been seized and stored away in Building 903; Tessa is intrigued by their presence in her home, while her mother is terrified. Lowry, the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Giver (1993), shines in her creation of uncomfortably believable dystopian societies. Tessa’s painfully limited world is fully imagined, with its own history, laws, and norms. Her relationship with her brother reads as realistic and tender and is crucial to the mystery. Miriam is the most strongly developed character: wise and independent, unafraid and hopeful. While the climb to the book’s climax is captivating, the hurried resolution is disappointing. The powerful messaging around the importance of literature and imagination certainly resonates, however. The main characters present white.

A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short. (Dystopian. 9-12)