A well-illustrated book with an inspirational message for girls and young women of color.
In this upbeat picture book, an experienced mentor urges girls and young women of color to believe in themselves.
Sims has served as director of the Birmingham, Alabama, chapter of Team Focus, an organization that helps boys and young men find mentors, and in this stand-alone companion to Young King, Young King (2019), he offers advice to female readers who may need a bit of encouragement. “You must always believe in and love yourself, even when no one else does,” he says early on, and on the pages that follow, he gently promotes self-love and self-reliance. “The world will pull you in different directions,” he writes. “Trust yourself! You know what’s right and wrong.” Sims advises girls and young women to set goals and tap into their creativity: “Your actions and reactions will define you, not your intentions or thoughts.” Although self-sufficiency is an overarching theme, he recommends seeking help when needed from “Other Young Queens” and from God: “Trust God, talk to him, and include him in ALL of your plans.” He also encourages them not to lose hope when facing difficulties like loss, anger, or heartbreak. Befitting that cheerful tone, Mills’ illustrations show a happy, bright-eyed, dark-skinned girl in varied everyday situations: doing a yoga pose, speaking in a classroom, dreaming of a diploma. When the text says, “Your actions and reactions will define you, not your intentions or thoughts,” the art shows the girl holding the words “action” and “intent” in her open palms. A handful of images also depict boys, adults, or friends with varied skin tones. Some of the sentiments are familiar—“You can do, and you can be anything you want to be!”—but they bring worthy reminders that everyone could use from time to time. Williams, the author of This Isn’t It (2016), reinforces Sims’ messages in her foreword, which reminds adults that girls need to hear that “they are…beautiful, strong, needed, and absolutely not alone.”
A well-illustrated book with an inspirational message for girls and young women of color.Pub Date: July 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-79828-045-4
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: May 6, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A kind child in a book for middle-grade readers? There’s no downside to that.
Beatrice Zinker is a kinder, gentler Judy Moody.
Beatrice doesn’t want to be fit in a box. Her first word was “WOW,” not “Mom.” She does her best thinking upside down and prefers to dress like a ninja. Like Judy Moody, she has patient parents and a somewhat annoying younger brother. (She also has a perfectly ordinary older sister.) Beatrice spends all summer planning a top-secret spy operation complete with secret codes and a secret language (pig Latin). But on the first day of third grade, her best friend, Lenny (short for Eleanor), shows up in a dress, with a new friend who wants to play veterinarian at recess. Beatrice, essentially a kind if somewhat quirky kid, struggles to see the upside of the situation and ends up with two friends instead of one. Line drawings on almost every spread add to the humor and make the book accessible to readers who might otherwise balk at its 160 pages. Thankfully, the rhymes in the text do not continue past the first chapter. Children will enjoy the frequent puns and Beatrice’s preference for climbing trees and hanging upside down. The story drifts dangerously close to pedantry when Beatrice asks for advice from a grandmotherly neighbor but is saved by likable characters and upside-down cake. Beatrice seems to be white; Lenny’s surname, Santos, suggests that she may be Latina; their school is a diverse one.
A kind child in a book for middle-grade readers? There’s no downside to that. (Fiction. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-6738-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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