This straightforward consideration of children affected by the imprisonment of family members is necessary.
A little girl reflects on missing her incarcerated father.
An opening epigraph shares that “Each and every family is unique.…We can feel loved, even when the world puts up a wall,” setting the tone for a story that shows the protagonist growing up with the knowledge that her father is in prison. She was 3 when he went away and works through questions about his absence in conversation with Grandma while wishing for a relationship with her older, faraway sister, talking to her counselor, and looking forward to the next visiting day when she’ll see her daddy. The illustrations feature simple line drawings in muted earth tones with textured lines to create dynamic hairstyles, locs, short Afros, and high buns, that frame the various hues of brown skin on the characters’ faces. Charming and heart-wrenching details in the flights of fireflies, bordered pictures in a photo album, and even the expression of the little girl when a classmate whispers, “You know your daddy’s a criminal so that makes you one,” highlight the angst and resilience of the little girl. Unfortunately, the uneven rhyme scheme pulls attention away from the effective storytelling of the illustrations and emphasizes the lack of cohesive narrative movement. An author’s note provides more context and statistics for the story.
This straightforward consideration of children affected by the imprisonment of family members is necessary. (discussion guide) (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64259-036-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Haymarket Books
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
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
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.
Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.
Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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