Eclectic and empowering.
Poets introduce 14 neurodivergent trailblazers.
Using poetic forms as diverse as their subjects, authors sharing aspects of these young people’s identities celebrate their bravery and creativity. Some figures will likely be familiar, such as singer Billie Eilish, “a girl with Tourette’s” who “turned tics into chords”; others may be new to readers, like Liam Garner, an autistic youth who biked from Alaska to Argentina. A brief biography and a motivational tip (“Use your unique perspective to solve problems”) follow each poem. Bradley’s photorealistic illustrations convey subjects’ joy and determination. Some lines feel cliched, as when Vanessa Brantley-Newton’s double couplet series “Her Name Means Light” proclaims Helena Donato-Sapp—an anti-bullying advocate with ADHD, visual processing and memory disorders, and dyscalculia—“young yet wise beyond her years.” Others are thought provoking; Sally J. Pla’s free-verse intro to Dara McAnulty, who is autistic and who wrote the award-winning A Young Naturalist’s Diary, concludes that “saving Nature / is the only way / we can save / ourselves.” Hannah Emerson’s “Dear Adam” echoes the cadence of nonspeaking autistic poet Adam Wolfond (who communicates with a text-to-speech app): “floating reality / becoming dear great treeing / named Adam yes yes.” A list of affirmations matched to each subject (“You are not broken. Helena refuses shame for her identities”) summarizes the encouraging collection. Backmatter includes author information and defines terms, poetic forms, and conditions portrayed here, which include Down syndrome, anxiety, and stuttering.
Eclectic and empowering. (Collective/verse biography. 5-10)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9781623545833
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An inspirational look at one girl’s quest to make sure that all skin tones are visible and available in the classroom.
A Black girl’s simple observation propels her into activism.
Woodard, who launched the More Than Peach Project—which arranges for classrooms and children in need to receive kits that include art supplies and boxes of multicultural crayons (crayons in a variety of skin tones)—relates the incident that sparked her journey. As the book begins, she is dropped off at school and notices that her family’s skin tone differs from that of her classmates. While it is clear that she is one of a few children of color at school, that difference isn’t really felt until her friends start asking for the “skin-color” crayon when they mean peach. She’s bothered that no one else seems to notice that skin comes in many colors, so she devises a unique way of bringing everyone’s attention to that fact. With support from her family and her school, she encourages her fellow classmates to rethink their language and starts an initiative to ensure that everyone’s skin tone is represented in each crayon box. Appealing, realistic artwork depicts Woodard’s experiences, while endpapers feature More Than Peach crayon boxes and childlike illustrations of kids of different ethnicities doing various activities. The story is stirring and will motivate budding activists. (This book was reviewed digitally; the review has been updated for factual accuracy.)
An inspirational look at one girl’s quest to make sure that all skin tones are visible and available in the classroom. (note from Woodard, information on Woodard’s journey into activism, instructions on starting a drive) (Picture-book biography. 6-10)Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-80927-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
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