Affirming and warm.
Encouragement to reach for the stars, just as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did.
Opening with a close-up of brown-skinned, sock-clad legs, this tribute to Jackson—the first African American woman appointed to the Supreme Court—pairs verse rife with references to the justice’s life and storied career (supportive parents, a guidance counselor who warns that “YOUR SIGHTS ARE SET TOO HIGH”) with images of a pigtailed Black girl who “speaks her dreams into existence.” Both Jackson and the pictured youngster are part of a long line of women who persisted despite others’ doubts, among them Harriet Tubman and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Suffused with glowing purples and golds, Coulter’s ethereal, glittery images feature frequent stars and crowns amid images of Black women and girls proudly supporting one another. Scanned excerpts from legal documents—such as Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation speech and opinions—comprise many of the backgrounds, underscoring her deep passion for the law. Kids may have questions: Is the girl at the center of the book a young Ketanji? Or is she a child inspired by her worthy example? They also likely won’t recognize all the names of the women adorning the spines of the oversize books that the girl leans against (Oprah, Viola, Angela). Adults will want to offer some context, but the uplifting message comes through loud and clear: “Find a smile in the darkest tales. / Dust off that gold. / Adjust your crown. / We see you.”
Affirming and warm. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780063311398
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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