An emollient and digestible distillation of complex issues.
Where do our ideas and assumptions about gender come from, and how might they be holding us back?
Gravel and Blais—who is transgender—invite young readers to reflect on these questions. The book explains the difference between biological sex and gender identity, teaches about gender inclusive pronouns, and offers a capsule history of gender norms, showing how they have varied cross-culturally and throughout time. Children will also learn about the tough realities of gender stereotyping, gender inequality, gender policing, and homophobia. One double-page spread is devoted to affirming the multitude of gendered family structures that exist. The authors unequivocally make the case for gender diversity and gender parity using concrete, kid-friendly examples. Designed to prompt conversation, the book directly poses questions to readers such as “Do you think all people should be allowed to love whoever they want?” and “Should we feel bad about doing the things we like?” This strategy is mostly effective but at times undermines the potential for emotional resonance. Little attention is paid to social movements oriented around gender issues, although a few individual changemakers, like Malala Yousafzai, are highlighted. Unfortunately, the text often feels like an exercise in preaching to the choir; transphobes and critics of gender ideology aren't likely to be convinced that this rather didactic book holds value for youngsters in their care. Gravel’s colorful but not very saturated webcomics-style illustrations have strong visual appeal with their pithy speech bubbles, frameless panels, and interactive elements.
An emollient and digestible distillation of complex issues. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-17863-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Random
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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