Warm, insightful, and tender.
A child of Korean descent realizes that not everyone sees things the same way.
Nervous about starting a new school, the young narrator dons sneakers rather than a favorite pair of eye-catching red shoes (“I want to fit in, not stand out”). Mom understands; she’s eschewed a sparkly top today. At school, the child notices that others have very different conceptions of Mom. “Your mom is so quiet,” another parent says. “Your mom is so serious,” says Principal Pat. The child charmingly debunks each observation. “Outside Mom” may be quiet, but “Inside Mom” is anything but. While many see Mom as a serious, down-to-earth, rigid presence, a different side of her emerges: a chatty, prank-loving woman who once bravely uprooted her life to emigrate to a new home. The young protagonist can relate, soon withdrawing after feeling uncertain in this unfamiliar classroom: “I become quiet…Like an Outside Me.” But Mom reassures the child, who in turn cherishes those few moments when Inside Mom reveals herself outside the house, such as when they meet up with friends. Offering a thought-provoking lesson in perception, Park has crafted a balanced and sensitive look at an immigrant family’s experience, delightfully lightening her energetic narrative with moments of comedy. Wen deftly uses cooler colors to portray scenes of Outside Mom while employing a warmer palette for the expressive and boisterous Inside Mom.
Warm, insightful, and tender. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781665929509
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another empowering outing led by a dynamic young role model.
The third title in the Ambitious Girl series finds young Maya wanting accomplished women to get their due.
On a school trip to Washington, D.C., brown-skinned, bubble-braided Maya is full of questions, among them “How many representatives are there?” and, while checking out the statues and monuments, “Where are all the women?” Maya’s teacher tells her that they’ve seen all the “popular” statues and monuments. Maya is as dogged (“But what about Eleanor Roosevelt? Or Mary McLeod Bethune?”) as her teacher is dismissive: “Those aren’t on my list.” (Maya’s teacher follows the same list every trip.) Back at home, Maya is newly awakened to the lack of female representation in her orbit—she notices that streets and “even her own school” are named for men. Is there anything she can do about this? Maya’s teacher’s cluelessness feels a bit implausible, more like a plot device to steer the story in the right direction, but Maya’s righteous indignation is believable, and her corresponding activism will energize readers. Valdez gets into the spirit of things with her invigorating digital art: Maya and her multiethnic classmates and neighbors are colorful dressers with smiling faces, which fosters a sense that wherever Maya goes, a warm and ebullient community is there for her.
Another empowering outing led by a dynamic young role model. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780316561341
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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