A well-deserved, and well-researched, valentine; Grant does libraries proud.
A shoutout to libraries as centers for learning and for fostering community spirit.
In this wide-ranging love letter, Grant sticks largely to libraries and library staffers who serve the general public but does a bang-up job of showing that providing books is only one of their many roles. Following a tantalizing overview describing a large and racially diverse cast of library users and workers sharing books, maps, and screens, she begins with a look back at great libraries of the past—offering a nod to Callimachus of Cyrene, creator of the first known library catalog—before turning to more recent years for a broad survey of library types, conventional or otherwise. Among the latter she salutes Little Free Libraries and Little Queer Libraries dotting the U.S., collections carried by camel in Pakistan, a lending library that popped up to serve Occupy Wall Street protesters, library services in prisons, and eight precious books secretly gathered by prisoners at Auschwitz. The author goes on to identify libraries that also loan out tools, prom dresses, and even sticks for visiting dogs. She frankly points out that public libraries in the U.S. have not always served Black patrons equitably (or fairly classified books about the Black experience), but her claim that many have long provided safe, supportive, and inclusive spaces in their communities still has merit overall. Nibbelink’s illustrations feature smiles and warm colors that underscore the narrative’s effervescent tone.
A well-deserved, and well-researched, valentine; Grant does libraries proud. (websites, glossary, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9781525311567
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Go adventuring with a better guide.
Find something to do in every state in the U.S.A.!
This guide highlights a location of interest within each of the states, therefore excluding Washington, D.C., and the territories. Trivia about each location is scattered across crisply rendered landscapes that background each state’s double-page spread while diminutive, diverse characters populate the scenes. Befitting the title, one “adventure” is presented per state, such as shrimping in Louisiana’s bayous, snowshoeing in Connecticut, or celebrating the Fourth of July in Boston. While some are stereotypical gimmes (surfing in California), others have the virtue of novelty, at least for this audience, such as viewing the sandhill crane migration in Nebraska. Within this thematic unity, some details go astray, and readers may find themselves searching in vain for animals mentioned. The trivia is plentiful but may be misleading, vague, or incorrect. Information about the Native American peoples of the area is often included, but its brevity—especially regarding sacred locations—means readers are floundering without sufficient context. The same is true for many of the facts that relate directly to expansion and colonialism, such as the unexplained near extinction of bison. Describing the genealogical oral history of South Carolina’s Gullah community as “spin[ning] tales” is equally brusque and offensive. The book tries to do a lot, but it is more style than substance, which may leave readers bored, confused, slightly annoyed—or all three. (This book was reviewed digitally with 12.2-by-20.2-inch double-page spreads viewed at 80% of actual size.)
Go adventuring with a better guide. (tips on local adventuring, index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7112-5445-9
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Important background for prospective voters.
An explanation of what general voting is for and why it is important.
In unusually (for the audience) frank if bare-bones fashion, deRubertis briefly chronicles the “long and bumpy” pursuit of universal suffrage in this country, from the first U.S. elections in which just 1 percent of the populace was qualified to vote at all up to the 30 percent turnout that resulted in 2016’s presidential debacle. Rightly observing that having a legal right to vote and being allowed to exercise it are two very different things, she charts the slow extension of the franchise to ethnic minorities and women (as well as a federal court’s retrograde 2000 exclusion of residents of Puerto Rico and other territories); names the first African-Americans, Native Americans, woman, and Chinese-American to be elected to the U.S. Senate; and surveys the civil rights protests that led to 1975’s expanded Voting Rights Act. Though she focuses largely on federal elections, state and local ones receive some attention. The Electoral College, voter-record security issues, and political parties go unmentioned, but the author does highlight low turnouts as a significant issue before closing with an eloquent summation of voting’s importance in a democratic society. Age, race, and gender diversity were plainly important considerations in choosing the generous selection of period portraits and scenes and recent stock photos, including the striking cover image of a smiling black woman at a podium.
Important background for prospective voters. (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63592-055-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Press
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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