Joyfully inspiring.
A tribute to moccasins and the Indigenous kids who sport them.
It’s Rock Your Mocs Week! Children from tribes throughout Turtle Island don their moccasins with pride, celebrating their cultures and traditions as they dance, play, and attend school. The diversity of activities that the kids engage in makes it clear that mocs don’t need to be special-occasion footwear donned only for ceremony. With each page turn, readers learn more about the significance of mocs: They are works of art, repositories of cultural knowledge, and, above all, a way to “honor our deep-rooted traditions while adapting to our sacred present.” The book depicts a variety of moccasin styles and materials, worn by children from tribes throughout the United States and Canada. A pronunciation guide at the beginning of the story helps readers work out potentially unfamiliar words from different Indigenous languages. Both informative and inspiring, Goodluck’s (Mandan/Hidatsa) text is concise. The upbeat tone is echoed in Goodnight’s (Chickasaw Nation) bright illustrations, which feature people in urban, suburban, and rural landscapes. The children and adults are diverse in skin tone and hair texture. Backmatter explains the origins of Rock Your Mocs Day (and later Week) and discusses the cultural significance of moccasins. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Joyfully inspiring. (note from editor Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9780063099890
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Heartdrum
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
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
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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