A potentially humorous Halloween caper is left stranded in the author’s latest effort. The story starts with the formidable Miss Irma Birmbaum—an unsinkable retro presence as drawn by Passen (Uncle’s New Suit, 1992, etc.)—giving her class of students the business: “No talking! Pass your homework assignments forward. Open your books to page 24. Read!” It so happened to be Halloween, but did that stop Miss Birmbaum from ladling on the homework? Forget about it. After the kids shuffle off with their math and history and spelling assignments, Miss Birmbaum stays behind to correct tests, and then heads for home. Taking a detour, she has a close encounter with a spaceship, which results in her being morphed into a fifty-foot teacher. Heading back to town, she runs into her students, who are out trick-or-treating. “Do your parents know you’re wandering about at this unearthly hour? I'm taking you all to the principal.” She arrives at the principal’s house and hands the kids over, also noting that they haven’t done their homework. But the principal knows how to put a 50-foot teacher in her place: “Good grief, woman! Who gives homework on Halloween? Don't you remember what it was like to be a child?” Presto, Miss Birmbaum remembers and becomes sweet as candy herself. Next day, too. That's pretty hard to swallow, as excuses go, and deeply unsatisfying, like driving in a car that runs out of gas: the sudden stillness is disconcerting. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8050-6100-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good-enough introduction to a contested festivity but one that’s not in step with the community it’s for.
An overview of the modern African-American holiday.
This book arrives at a time when black people in the United States have had intraracial—some serious, some snarky—conversations about Kwanzaa’s relevance nowadays, from its patchwork inspiration that flattens the cultural diversity of the African continent to a single festive story to, relatedly, the earnest blacker-than-thou pretentiousness surrounding it. Both the author and consultant Keith A. Mayes take great pains—and in painfully simplistic language—to provide a context that attempts to refute the internal arguments as much as it informs its intended audience. In fact, Mayes says in the endnotes that young people are Kwanzaa’s “largest audience and most important constituents” and further extends an invitation to all races and ages to join the winter celebration. However, his “young people represent the future” counterpoint—and the book itself—really responds to an echo of an argument, as black communities have moved the conversation out to listen to African communities who critique the holiday’s loose “African-ness” and deep American-ness and moved on to commemorate holidays that have a more historical base in black people’s experiences in the United States, such as Juneteenth. In this context, the explications of Kwanzaa’s principles and symbols and the smattering of accompanying activities feel out of touch.
A good-enough introduction to a contested festivity but one that’s not in step with the community it’s for. (resources, bibliography, glossary, afterword) (Nonfiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4263-2849-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
The leaves have changed, Thanksgiving nears—and the canny turkeys of Squawk Valley have decamped, leaving local residents to face the prospect of a birdless holiday. What to do? They decide to lure a bird back by appealing to its vanity, placing a want ad for a model to help sculptors creating turkey art, then “inviting” the bird to dinner. The ploy works, too, for out of the woods struts plump and perky Pete to take on the job. Shelly debuts with brightly hued cartoon scenes featuring pop-eyed country folk and deceptively silly-looking gobblers. Pete may be vain, but he hasn’t lost the wiliness of his wild ancestors; when the townsfolk come for him, he hides amidst a flock of sculpted gobblers—“There were turkeys made of spuds, / there were turkeys made of rope. / There were turkeys made of paper, / there were turkeys made of soap. / The room was full of turkeys / in a wall to wall collage. / For a clever bird like Pete / it was perfect camouflage.” He makes his escape, and is last seen lounging on a turkey-filled tropical beach as the disappointed Squawk Valleyites gather round the table for a main course of . . . shredded wheat. Good for a few giggles. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-890817-91-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2001
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