Lovely, touching, and tender.
Grieving for her grandmother, a young girl is washed away in a sea of tears.
Sweet remembrances of Nana are not enough; Lara’s tears overwhelm her. They fill her room and carry her away: through town and far out to sea. She feels completely alone and unable to recall her grandmother’s essence or even ever feeling happy. For a long time she remains deep in the vast sea of her misery, unaware of anything surrounding her. At last she notices something outside herself. There is a bit of light and the soft glimmer of a pearl, which makes her realize that not every good thing has been washed away. She also sees the marine life around her and feels less alone. Memories of Nana and love return, and she heads for home. Kellock treats Lara’s despair kindly and with great compassion, employing language and syntax that are gentle and expressive. Lara’s feelings are never dismissed, and she is not promised that sadness and grief will be eliminated; nevertheless, a sense of hope prevails. The sea metaphors are beautifully depicted in the dreamscapes, with swirling dark blues at times of deepest sadness, then glowing golds and pink as Lara begins to heal. A nice touch allows Lara to see some of the benign sea creatures in her bedroom. Readers will commiserate with Lara and, perhaps with their grown-ups’ help, gain insight into their own experiences with grief. Lara and Nana (in a photograph) both present White.
Lovely, touching, and tender. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: June 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65236-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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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