by Lauren L. Wohl ; illustrated by Mark Tuchman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 27, 2017
A vanilla-flavored tale with a built-in community-service message that may encourage youthful entrepreneurial efforts—or at...
Nicholas’ family has so many blueberries that they hardly know what to do. The bear in the backyard only complicates the situation!
Nicholas has been taking care of the Preston blueberry bushes for a long time, and he has been setting out pails of berries for the bear every summer. He hopes he’s made a deal with the bear: if he provides berries, the bear won’t take them from the bushes. But there are too many berries for his family to pick on their own. At first, he invites the neighbors to pick some, and the next summer, he invites his class to help. He sells lots of the extra berries everyone has helped pick in order to raise money for the new rubber mats for the local playground. His admirable hard work and generosity result in Nico’s being named the town’s “Top Businessman of the Year.” Tuchman’s pleasant, cartoonlike grayscale illustrations depict an evidently largely white community, though at least one bystander is depicted wearing the hijab. These illustrations (many of them representing Nico’s various signs) break up pages that each feature several paragraphs of text. There is little character development in this tale and not much in the way of conflict, making this effort feel more like a very long early reader rather than an early chapter book. It ends with a teaser for the next in the series.
A vanilla-flavored tale with a built-in community-service message that may encourage youthful entrepreneurial efforts—or at least kindness to bears. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943978-29-8
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Persnickety Press
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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by Lauren L. Wohl ; illustrated by Mark Tuchman
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by Hena Khan ; illustrated by Wastana Haikal ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2022
A charming contemporary story with a classic feel.
A 10 ¾-year-old girl weathers changes in her social circle—and her sense of self.
Dubbed “Queen of the Neighborhood” by beloved neighbor Mr. Chapman, who has sadly left Maryland for balmy Florida, Zara is apprehensive when a family with two kids moves into his house, potentially upsetting the delicate social balance. Readers familiar with Khan’s Zayd Saleem, Chasing the Dream books, set a few years after this series opener, will recognize the bustling Pakistani American Muslim household. Assertive, organized Zara and rambunctious 7-year-old Zayd live with their Mama and Baba; the siblings’ grandparents and uncle are integral parts of their daily lives. Zara and Zayd enjoy playing outside with their friends—Black sisters Jade and Gloria, White Alan, and Chinese American Melvin. Mr. Chapman always said that Zara knew how to “rule with grace and fairness,” but new arrivals Naomi and Michael, Jewish kids who are eager to engage socially, put this to the test. When Jamal Mamoo, Mama’s brother, brings over his Guinness World Records book, Zara decides that becoming a world-record holder is the boost her social status needs. Her humorous (and futile) attempts to make her mark ultimately lead her to being a more patient and understanding big sister and more flexible and supportive companion to friends old and new. Strong pacing, fluid prose, engaging hijinks, and heartwarming scenes of family life and outdoor play are complemented by expressive illustrations.
A charming contemporary story with a classic feel. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-9759-7
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
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by Hena Khan ; illustrated by Wastana Haikal
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by Hena Khan & Andrea Menotti ; illustrated by Yancey Labat
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PERSPECTIVES
by Patricia Polacco ; illustrated by Patricia Polacco ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 6, 2020
Deliberately inspirational and tinged with nostalgia, this will please fans but may strike others as overly idealistic.
Veteran picture-book creator Polacco tells another story from her childhood that celebrates the importance of staying true to one’s own interests and values.
After years of spending summers with her father and grandmother, narrator Trisha is excited to be spending the school year in Michigan with them. Unexpectedly abandoned by her summertime friends, Trisha quickly connects with fellow outsiders Thom and Ravanne, who may be familiar to readers from Polacco’s The Junkyard Wonders (2010). Throughout the school year, the three enjoy activities together and do their best to avoid school bully Billy. While a physical confrontation between Thom (aka “Sissy Boy”) and Billy does come, so does an opportunity for Thom to defy convention and share his talent with the community. Loosely sketched watercolor illustrations place the story in the middle of the last century, with somewhat old-fashioned clothing and an apparently all-White community. Trisha and her classmates appear to be what today would be called middle schoolers; a reference to something Trisha and her mom did when she was “only eight” suggests that several years have passed since that time. As usual, the lengthy first-person narrative is cozily conversational but includes some challenging vocabulary (textiles, lackeys, foretold). The author’s note provides a brief update about her friends’ careers and encourages readers to embrace their own differences. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Deliberately inspirational and tinged with nostalgia, this will please fans but may strike others as overly idealistic. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-2622-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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by Patricia Polacco ; illustrated by Patricia Polacco
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