An attractive, if flawed, board book that may still spark parental creativity.
In this debut guide for millennial dads, a young father shares creative doodles about his path toward parenthood.
“Doodle Thinking,” explains Kang, is a way to improve one’s thought process and creativity through the act of drawing, and his book aims to inspire other fathers to “visualize the story of how your little one positively changes your life.” (The author, a designer and illustrator with a 5-month-old daughter, doesn’t explain why his book is directed at fathers in particular and not parents in general.) He recommends sharing stories with children to expose them to other people’s points of view and thus build their empathy. He then offers some basic guidelines for externalizing one’s thinking through doodling, beginning with the instruction to “Draw a random shape.” He then supplies different ways to play with the artwork, such as by adding random shapes or physical features, such as eyes; the final step is to give it a “pithy title.” In a dozen doodles, each titled with a brief explanation, Kang tells his own story: how he met his child’s mother and how they fell in love; how having a baby has changed him; how he promises to protect and support his child; and his own fatherly advice. The style is appropriately playful, with curving lines and surprising intersections, including one in which the boundary between a dog and a cat becomes a fish. The colors are pleasingly muted yet warm, and the overall feeling is cheerful and humorous. At times, though, the pronouncements seem overconfident or unrealistic, such as advising a baby to “LIVE YOUR CHILDHOOD DREAM,” a recommendation that might result in a lot of unemployed cowboys and ballerinas if followed by every child. Similarly, some pieces of advice might have been rethought, such as “DON’T BE AFRAID TO MOVE FIRST, THINK LATER,” accompanied by a doodle of a horse running over a cliff. Also unrealistic, for many parents, is the rosy glow that the book casts over new parenthood with its emphasis on only positive changes. Perhaps children don’t need to know about the stresses of parenting, but whether positivity alone can increase their empathy is questionable.
An attractive, if flawed, board book that may still spark parental creativity.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-5136-1699-5
Page Count: 30
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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