While the activities aren’t particularly unique, the humor and focus on family fun are.
Reagan and Wildish, with co-author Brown-Wood, continue their How To... series, this time with a longer tome focusing on activities kids and grown-ups can do together.
Seven chapters focus on fun…“in the fresh air,” “with paper,” “with science,” “you can eat,” “with crafts,” “with imagin-yay-tion,” and “with family.” Each has five to eight entertaining though not especially original activities that include easily procured supplies; simply worded, often tongue-in-cheek directions (“How To Go Stargazing”: “1. Wait for nighttime—this won’t work if it isn’t dark”); occasional other ideas to try; and Wildish’s digital cartoon illustrations playing up all the intergenerational fun. While some ideas definitely involve kids and grown-ups working and spending time together (a park picnic), others are adult-adjacent (making a kite) or don’t involve adults at all (making a mosaic). Notably, a few activities will reach across distances: sending letters or playing games over a video call. The book jumps around the seasons wildly, with a snowman-building activity following camping, and includes both indoor and outdoor fun. The focus is definitely on families, as several steps prompt children to say or write “I love you.” And not only does Wildish not picture any cellphones, but in the directions for making a family memory, children collect all electronic devices until the end of the day. Characters are racially diverse.
While the activities aren’t particularly unique, the humor and focus on family fun are. (activity checklist) (Activity book. 5-10)Pub Date: June 20, 2023
ISBN: 9780593479230
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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