It doesn’t stick the landing, but it’s nevertheless a sobering insight with plenty of history on its side.
An update of the (originally) anti-Nazi poem of protest, reframed as an anti-bullying message.
An optimistic finish robs this litany—modeled on the anonymous and often misquoted lines beginning “First they came for the communists…”—of its profound cautionary power, but the point remains, and the tally of afflicted groups is particularly cogent for younger audiences. Following “First they went after Jamal. / But I’m not black— / so I didn’t stand up for him,” the unnamed narrator shies away from the sight of peers either looking sad or being harassed or menaced by a racially diverse quartet of sneering fellow students. Victims include a “geek,” a gay boy, a fat kid, a girl wearing hand-me-downs, an immigrant, a Muslim child, a child using forearm crutches, and Alexis (“she used to be Alex”). In her diaphanous, yellow-tinged illustrations, Hudon sets each scene in school or on a playground and draws stiffly posed figures with oversized heads and eyes to emphasize through facial expressions the emotional impact of bullying. When at last “they” come for the unseen speaker, all of the previous victims line up shoulder to shoulder: “We all stood together.” Falcone follows this rather self-serving turn with a closing note quoting the original (with “communists” replaced by the less-controversial “socialists”) and directing a nod to Martin Niemöller, the minister and peace worker who made it famous.
It doesn’t stick the landing, but it’s nevertheless a sobering insight with plenty of history on its side. (Picture book. 7-12)Pub Date: April 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-988347-06-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clockwise Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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