``Then God smiled./And the light broke./And the darkness rolled up on one side./And the light stood shining on the other./And God said: That's good!'' This poem first appeared in God's Trombones in 1927; it's a wonderfully sonorous retelling, gracefully reflecting the story's nobility while renewing it with vivid imagery and an easy informality that never detracts from its dignity. Golembe (Why the Sky Is Far Away, 1992) provides the perfect visual complement: vibrant paintings in broad, freely rendered areas of rich, dark color, splendidly imaginative and decorative. Elephants are as magenta as flamingoes in Golembe's Eden, while Adam and Eve are handsome black silhouettes. An outstanding rendering, not to be missed. (Poetry/Picture book. 4+)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-316-46744-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An uneven depiction of how antisemitism manifests on social media and in real life.
Jewish siblings Theo and Annie Kaplan grapple with antisemitism in their middle school and society at large.
When soccer-obsessed Theo’s favorite player makes an antisemitic statement at a press conference, the ensuing social media spiral sickens Theo. His teammates’ dismissive reactions further unsettle the eighth grader. When someone draws a swastika on Theo’s locker, he initially suppresses his feelings before eventually lashing out. Sixth grader Annie responds to the controversy by lying to the school librarian, whom she adores: She’s wracked with guilt but uses a library computer to create an illicit social media account and jump right into the fray, rebutting the bigotry she sees online. The boisterous, white-presenting Kaplan family incorporates meaningful Jewish practices into their regular lives, although the authors’ depictions evoke some Jewish tropes, like the overbearing grandmother who must be covertly managed by other family members. Theo and Annie’s university professor parents pressure their children to stand up for themselves without offering much meaningful support. Using multiple first-person perspectives—including that of new kid Gabe, who’s mourning the loss of his mother to Covid-19—the authors maintain a quick pace even as both siblings reach a point of crisis. Theo and Annie remain likable and realistic in their behavior, but the characterization unfortunately struggles to keep pace with the action, leaving some of the emotions feeling abrupt and unearned.
An uneven depiction of how antisemitism manifests on social media and in real life. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781467196215
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Arcadia Children's Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
With a universal message of love and community, this book offers a beautiful representation of a too-often-overlooked...
From a debut author-and-illustrator team comes a glimpse into a young American Muslim girl’s family and community as she walks around in “Mommy’s khimar,” or headscarf.
The star of this sunny picture book is a young girl who finds joy in wearing her mother’s khimar, imagining it transforms her into a queen, a star, a mama bird, a superhero. At the core of the story is the love between the girl and her mother. The family appears to be African-American, with brown skin and textured hair. The girl’s braids and twists “form a bumpy crown” under the khimar, which smells of coconut oil and cocoa butter. Adults in her life delight in her appearance in the bright yellow khimar, including her Arabic teacher at the mosque, who calls it a “hijab,” and her grandmother, who visits after Sunday service and calls out “Sweet Jesus!” as she scoops her granddaughter into her arms. Her grandmother is, apparently, a Christian, but “We are a family and we love each other just the same.” The illustrations feature soft pastel colors with dynamic lines and gently patterned backgrounds that complement the story’s joyful tone. The words are often lyrical, and the story artfully includes many cultural details that will delight readers who share the cheerful protagonist’s culture and enlighten readers who don’t.
With a universal message of love and community, this book offers a beautiful representation of a too-often-overlooked cultural group . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0059-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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