Readers will eagerly saddle up for this enchanting ride.
An aspiring equestrian learns what horsemanship is really like.
Frances is visiting her friend Mae, who has a stable, for her first riding lesson. She fantasizes about clearing obstacles while atop a noble steed like her favorite toy horse, Excalibur—only to meet an adorably round, filthy horse named Snowball. As Mae gives her a grounding in horse care, Frances discovers that the realities of horsemanship aren’t quite as glamorous as she had anticipated: She notices Mae’s mother mucking out the stables, and horse care entails scraping the dirt out of Snowball’s hooves. When it’s finally time to mount Snowball, she’s a bit nervous. But Mae eases her into things by joining her for a tandem ride. Frances is finally ready for a solo ride, and she ends her visit eager for her next lesson and still daydreaming about riding—though now fantasizing about a considerably rounder mount. While this title isn’t a sequel to Mann’s The Camping Trip (2020), the books share the same reader-friendly text and deceptively simple artwork. Divided into graphic novel–esque panels, whimsically childlike, loose-lined illustrations, rendered in an appropriately muddy palette, offer accurate depictions of equipment. Mann captures the flavor of stable life as she infuses the narrative with well-chosen details, such as the clouds of dirt and horse hair knocked loose as the girls brush Snowball. Frances is light-skinned; Mae and her mother are brown-skinned.
Readers will eagerly saddle up for this enchanting ride. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: June 17, 2025
ISBN: 9781536235265
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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
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
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