by Lupe Ruiz-Flores ; illustrated by Robert Casilla ; translated by Natalia Rosales-Yeomans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 30, 2013
In attempting to address both the importance of exercise and the value of social activism, the story fails to truly engage...
Noticing that her mother lacks energy and has put on some weight, young Estela suggests that she join some of the neighbors in the salsa class at the community recreation center.
Eventually, Mami joins and finds that she enjoys the exercise. The teacher lets Estela join in the salsa class too, until the director of the center decides that children are no longer allowed in the class. Estela is disappointed, but then she learns about petitions in school. Suddenly, her parents are helping her set up a table where Estela collects hundreds of signatures. She even gains the support of the mayor, and the recreation center opens a salsa class for kids. As if this weren’t over-the-top enough, Estela receives an award from the mayor and special recognition at the school, including a ribbon to wear that reads “#1 Student.” The story then awkwardly jumps back to the importance of exercise for both adults and children, commenting on the “trim and healthy” appearances of Estela and her mother. The illustrations portray diverse people with varying body types, but they feel stiff. Some of the spreads seem sketchlike in their lack of detail.
In attempting to address both the importance of exercise and the value of social activism, the story fails to truly engage readers on either topic. (Bilingual picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55885-762-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
Share your opinion of this book
More by Lupe Ruiz-Flores
BOOK REVIEW
by Lupe Ruiz-Flores ; illustrated by Anna López Real
BOOK REVIEW
by Lupe Ruiz-Flores ; illustrated by Gabhor Utomo ; translated by Gabriela Baeza Ventura
BOOK REVIEW
by Lupe Ruiz-Flores & illustrated by Laura Lacámara & translated by Gabriela Baeza Ventura
by Paul Goble ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1978
There are many parallel legends – the seal women, for example, with their strange sad longings – but none is more direct than this American Indian story of a girl who is carried away in a horses’ stampede…to ride thenceforth by the side of a beautiful stallion who leads the wild horses. The girl had always loved horses, and seemed to understand them “in a special way”; a year after her disappearance her people find her riding beside the stallion, calf in tow, and take her home despite his strong resistance. But she is unhappy and returns to the stallion; after that, a beautiful mare is seen riding always beside him. Goble tells the story soberly, allowing it to settle, to find its own level. The illustrations are in the familiar striking Goble style, but softened out here and there with masses of flowers and foliage – suitable perhaps for the switch in subject matter from war to love, but we miss the spanking clean design of Custer’s Last Battle and The Fetterman Fight. 6-7
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1978
ISBN: 0689845049
Page Count: -
Publisher: Bradbury
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1978
Share your opinion of this book
More by Paul Goble
BOOK REVIEW
by Paul Goble ; illustrated by Paul Goble ; introduction by Robert Lewis
BOOK REVIEW
by Paul Goble & illustrated by Paul Goble
BOOK REVIEW
by Paul Goble & illustrated by Paul Goble
by Angela Johnson & illustrated by Barry Moser ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2001
Vague text and anemic pictures make this at best a half-hearted tribute to the construction workers of the last century or so. In her brief, poetic text Johnson writes of “those shadowy building men . . . moving the earth to connect water,” of “railroad workers . . . who were there to connect all.” She continues: “As buildings tower above us / they tell the tales / of the cities . . . They whisper down past it all and say, / ‘They built us, your fathers . . .’ ” There is little here to engage child readers, either intellectually or emotionally, and Moser’s remote, indistinct portraits of ordinary-looking men (only men) dressed in sturdy working clothes and, mostly, at rest, only intermittently capture any sense of individual or collective effort. In evident recognition of these inadequacies, a prose afterword has been added to explain what the book is about—a superfluous feature had Moser and Johnson produced work up to their usual standards. Let readers spend time more profitably with the likes of John Henry or Mike Mulligan. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-590-66521-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2000
Share your opinion of this book
More by Angela Johnson
BOOK REVIEW
by Angela Johnson ; illustrated by Nina Crews
BOOK REVIEW
by Angela Johnson ; illustrated by E.B. Lewis
BOOK REVIEW
by Angela Johnson ; illustrated by Scott M. Fischer
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.