Dense and lackluster.
This text-heavy introduction dives into the history, culture, and spreading fandom of anime and manga, highlighting prominent titles and providing an overview of genres and trends.
The popularity of anime and manga, which are made for audiences of all ages, reaches around the world. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on the development of the industries associated with anime and manga, starting with the rise of book printing on a mass scale in the early 1700s and the publication of collections of drawings by the famous artist Hokusai, such as Hokusai’s Manga (1814). Bolte details how trade, war, and natural disasters all influenced the spread, production, and content of early magazines and animation. The next three chapters discuss publishing demographics, genres, successful series, and how fans around the world engage with each other and the industry. For a title focused on visual media, this introduction offers a surprisingly wordy layout and sparse imagery. The photos that are included have a generic quality that’s exacerbated by captions that provide limited context or logical connection. Compared to more robust sections of the book, the breakdown of genres is merely a list of unannotated titles. While the book may hold the attention of readers who are already interested in the topic, its initial focus on history and global popularization is less likely to draw in new viewers and readers.
Dense and lackluster. (glossary, source notes, bibliography, resources, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9798765662724
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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