A compelling and empathetic introduction to displacement and mutual aid.
In this debut picture book, a Palestinian American girl befriends a refugee from her father’s homeland.
Yasmeen doesn’t understand why she must help her father, an immigrant from Palestine, bring donations to the masjid for refugees on the weekend. At his insistence, they go to their mosque, where Yasmeen encounters a girl named Sumoud. They discover they have a lot in common, such as being big sisters and liking Taylor Swift. The conversation soon shifts to the hardships of living in a Palestinian refugee camp. Sumoud explains: “The tents at the camp didn’t protect us from the bad weather, and the water we drank wasn’t always clean, so we got sick a lot.” That night, Yasmeen dreams of what her life would have been like if Baba had never left Palestine, an image so terrifying that it spurs her into action. She not only leaps at the opportunity to return to the masjid the following weekend, but also plans to find ways to help kids like Sumoud adjust to their lives in new countries. This beautiful book bridges a gap between cultures that has seen little attention from the publishing world despite the scale and immediacy of the conflict it addresses. Abdulkarim thoughtfully introduces Sumoud’s world to readers through Yasmeen— as well as some basic Arabic vocabulary through asides in the corners of some pages. Alshalabi’s illustrations are full of muted natural tones that emphasize the text’s meditative nature.
A compelling and empathetic introduction to displacement and mutual aid.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9798991381918
Page Count: 28
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.
Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.
Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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