A rousing celebration of the mind’s creativity.
The possibilities are endless.
Yamada finds the fertile soil of imagination everywhere—in our experiences, our dreams, and our hopes but especially in our questions. Questions “are magic portals that can turn what is into what can be.” The author urges us to “see the smells. Taste the sounds. Feel the colors. Listen to the flavors.” Empathy is key; “possibilities blossom with each act of kindness,” and there is a moral payoff when we “choose what’s right instead of what’s easy.” Yamada’s text is earnest if a bit lofty; much of the book’s appeal rests on Neira Zúñiga’s extravagant, richly hued illustrations, which bring to life a fantastical world. A tan-skinned child with long dark hair carrying a cello inhabits landscapes ranging from desert to polar, lunar, and marine. Music is key to this youngster’s imaginings: The child rides in a cello-shaped carriage pulled by a huge chinchilla; later, the cello morphs into a pirate ship. As the youngster performs in a museum, figures emerge from the paintings to dance; the child also conducts an orchestra of Easter Island moai. A tiny chinchilla serves as a constant companion as the youngster encounters Ent-like trees, Dutch fields with zebra stripes (and zebra heads protruding), and tortoises carrying cities atop their backs. In many scenes, brilliant butterfly wings suggest the flight of the imagination, the central concern of this delightful book.
A rousing celebration of the mind’s creativity. (Picture book. 7-12)Pub Date: July 21, 2026
ISBN: 9781957891774
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
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
Funny and endearing, though incomplete characterizations provoke questions.
An isolated class of misfits and a teacher on the edge of retirement are paired together for a year of (supposed) failure.
Zachary Kermit, a 55-year-old teacher, has been haunted for the last 27 years by a student cheating scandal that has earned him the derision of his colleagues and killed his teaching spirit. So when he is assigned to teach the Self-Contained Special Eighth-Grade Class—a dumping ground for “the Unteachables,” students with “behavior issues, learning problems, juvenile delinquents”—he is unfazed, as he is only a year away from early retirement. His relationship with his seven students—diverse in temperament, circumstance, and ability—will be one of “uncomfortable roommates” until June. But when Mr. Kermit unexpectedly stands up for a student, the kids of SCS-8 notice his sense of “justice and fairness.” Mr. Kermit finds he may even care a little about them, and they start to care back in their own way, turning a corner and bringing along a few ghosts from Mr. Kermit’s past. Writing in the alternating voices of Mr. Kermit, most of his students, and two administrators, Korman spins a narrative of redemption and belief in exceeding self-expectations. Naming conventions indicate characters of different ethnic backgrounds, but the book subscribes to a white default. The two students who do not narrate may be students of color, and their characterizations subtly—though arguably inadequately—demonstrate the danger of preconceptions.
Funny and endearing, though incomplete characterizations provoke questions. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-256388-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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