The Justice League could do worse than to have this golem as a member.
Is a golem a superhero?
A golem is a figure from Jewish legend and—in this telling—a giant who’s more powerful than a locomotive. In the opening pages of this picture book, the narrator, a Jewish immigrant boy arriving in America from Europe, gives his golem a sort of superhero credo: “The creature had one purpose only: To protect us!” The only problem is that the boy doesn’t need much protecting. The gang of kids chasing him turns out to be a baseball team looking for a new player. The golem ends up working odd jobs: ice cream man, construction worker. It’s as if Superman stayed in Smallville and fought jaywalkers and cow tippers. Unfortunately, watching a golem do construction work isn’t as funny as it might sound, though the panicked expressions on the other workers’ faces as he joins them on a narrow girder in midair are mildly hilarious. Lumer’s pictures are enormously expressive, and his technique is both spectacular and utterly peculiar. If Al Hirschfeld had done chalk drawings, they would have looked like this. (The skin tones are sadly monochrome, though. All the characters are white, except in large crowd scenes.) If some jokes don’t work, the story ends on a perfect—and very American—superhero moment, with the golem knocking a baseball “[w]aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out” of the park.
The Justice League could do worse than to have this golem as a member. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68115-535-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Apples & Honey Press
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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
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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