An exceptional tool for navigating the unimaginable.
An empowering portrait of a life transformed—but not determined—by trauma.
This affirming narrative begins in the wake of a Horrible Day. As well-meaning grown-ups suggest just how fortunate the protagonist is to have survived the ordeal, our elementary-aged narrator balks, cloaked in an anxiety that clings like a sticky second skin. The child feels safest with pal Alex, another Horrible Day survivor. Together, they occupy a space free from talk of luck or silver linings, processing the experience without pressure and remembering those lost to the catastrophic violence. When the protagonist hears tell of another Horrible Day, the family attends a protest where they join countless, similarly affected Others, united in the fight for action. In their company, the youngster makes a liberating discovery—that a community wrought from Horrible Days is a community nonetheless and that solidarity can make the days that follow tragedy a little more tenable. Adelman’s text celebrates resilience without diminishing its power with pity nor demanding that young people rush the recovery process, while Corrigan’s cerulean-hued art softens the sharpness of the subject. And though gun violence is heavily implied throughout, the Horrible Day’s precipitating event is never explicitly named, an elision that offers readers breathing room to understand their own formative traumas. An afterword from Sam Fuentes, who survived the 2018 Parkland shooting, offers additional information; the protagonist is brown-skinned, while supporting characters vary in skin tone.
An exceptional tool for navigating the unimaginable. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780807530955
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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
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
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