A useful, if not artful awareness tool
An introduction to the positive action kids are taking globally to improve the lives of children everywhere.
Opening with the text of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this call to action profiles 10 kids standing up for these rights. In India, Anita’s a UNICEF poster girl for eradicating gender bias. Filipino Emman created a kids’ rights coloring book used in schools. In the United States, Dylan mobilized kids over the Internet to reduce global poverty, and Zach walked thousands of miles to raise money for the homeless. In Yemen, Nujood’s book exposed forced early marriages. In Canada, Shannen challenged Parliament to build a new school for indigenous people, while Cheryl founded a nonprofit to halt commercial exploitation of children. Brazilian Mayra organized peace marches to reduce police violence. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ndale works to eliminate child soldiers. South Korean Han-wool makes videos to raise awareness about school bullying. Each profile includes text, quotes, photos and a muddy-looking full-color portrait. Colorful sidebars feature other kids in action, while “Kids Take Action,” “Kids Create” and “What YOUth Can Do” sections provide more examples of youth empowerment. While lacking textual cohesiveness, this anecdotal collection could inspire kids to make a difference.
A useful, if not artful awareness tool . (Nonfiction. 6-10)Pub Date: April 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-926920-95-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Second Story Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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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