A feel-good children’s book that’s short on storytelling details.
A story about young students’ anticipation of a school book fair.
O'Bannon celebrates friendship, generosity, and the joy of reading in this illustrated children’s book. The tale centers around three friends—Alex, Lance, and Lemon. When the book begins, the boys are arriving at school. Inside, they see a colorful poster announcing the school’s book fair. The friends exchange “excited looks, already imagining all the books they’ll discover.” In class, the boys’ teacher, Ms. Jackson, confirms the book fair is coming, and she adds an important announcement: The principal usually chooses one student to help with the book fair, and this time, the chosen student is Alex. He brings home a flyer about the book fair to show his mom and tells her that he’s been saving money to buy something for his little sister. “He pictured his little sister’s delighted face when he handed her the perfect book.” Alex likes mystery novels and adventure books, while Lance primarily reads basketball books. At recess, Alex and Lemon are so absorbed in their reading, they don’t even want to play basketball with Lance. On the day of the book fair, Alex receives a helper badge. He chooses a book titled Caroline Discovers Hobbies for his sister and several others for himself. As he exits the book fair, his grandmother arrives, surprising him with a ride home. O'Bannon promotes reading in this happy-go-lucky book that encourages children to get excited about reading. The author prompts readers to reflect on the story with questions like, “How would you feel if you were selected for an important role like Alex?” Aruman’s bright and bold digital illustrations capture the classroom ambiance. The simple plot, however, lacks conflict, and the characters are cheerful but flat. Readers are repeatedly told about the boys’ excitement, but the trio of friends rarely expresses other feelings. The dialogue, often engaging, comes at the expense of scene-setting and other sensory information about the cast and their environment.
A feel-good children’s book that’s short on storytelling details.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781737412861
Page Count: 34
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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