This is an enjoyable introduction to the world of dance that portrays dance as a diverse art form and capable means of...
Photo essayist Ancona introduces readers to the joys of dance through the eyes of four grade schoolers: Raptor, Ely, Logan, and Ryan.
Through the work of the National Dance Institute of New Mexico, the boys and their classmates are introduced to various styles of performance, including ballet, tap, and even stage combat. Dance requires a great deal of strength and energy, to run, leap, and lift their partners in the pas de deux. This artistic athleticism is perfectly suited to these exuberant boys. Many weeks of rehearsal culminate in a live performance involving hundreds of other schoolchildren and community members dancing pieces inspired by various works of literature. Though the boys (two kids of color and two who present as white) are the featured characters, the ensembles are clearly coeducational and racially diverse. Ancona highlights many stereotypically masculine aspects of dance (stage fighting; lifts and flips) that young people may be unaware of, likely hoping to appeal to other young men who might harbor the misconception of dance as an exclusively feminine performance art. The simple text is choppy at times; here the photographs fill in many of the missing details, though younger readers may need help to make these leaps of inference.
This is an enjoyable introduction to the world of dance that portrays dance as a diverse art form and capable means of expression for all children . (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8202-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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
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