A rallying cry for anyone looking for a strong example of perseverance.
Brazilian surfer Gabeira offers a fictionalized version of her childhood with this story of an adventurous young girl who overcomes sexism and self-doubt to become a great athlete.
The inhabitants of the fishing village of Nazaré, Portugal, are in awe of a massive wave known as the Beast. A young villager named Maya has asthma and brings medicine with her wherever she goes; though shy, Maya finds fulfillment when moving her body during dancing, gymnastics, and swimming. Having grown up hearing about the Beast, she goes to see it for herself and is in awe of the massive wave, though she also notices boys surfing on it. Maya decides to try surfing, which her father encourages. The boys at the beach tell her surfing is no sport for girls, and she nearly believes them until a voice in a seashell tells her not to give up. Both text and illustrations offer a stirring account of Maya’s journey to surfing mastery. The Beast begins as a spectacle from afar, filling the page with its sheer scope. Maya is often framed within or beneath its crest, including a wonderful scene of her would-be hecklers watching dumbfounded as she joyously surfs ahead of them. Maya and her family are brown-skinned; for the most part, other residents of Nazaré range in skin color from tan to brown. In an author’s note, Gabeira describes growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and, in 2007, setting a Guinness record for the largest wave ever surfed at Praia de Norte in Nazaré. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A rallying cry for anyone looking for a strong example of perseverance. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4197-6000-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As charming and spontaneous as the first installment.
Film, friendship, and food are powerful forces for good in this community-minded follow-up to Mayor Good Boy (2021).
The fluffy white canine leader of Greenwood works hard with the assistance of helpful if sometimes silly junior aides Abby and Aaron Ableman. A film crew is in town to make a documentary about Mayor Good Boy, to be screened in a volunteer-renovated community theater. Filming is interrupted by a string of thefts around town, which motivates the community to unite and find the culprits. Abby is portrayed as bright and responsible, while Aaron is impulsive and steers most interactions toward either food or action. In fact, nearly every scene in the story includes food, so readers may want to have a snack handy. The cartoonish art brims with humor; layouts frequently use about four, five, or six neatly arranged panels per page and are easy to follow. Though the wacky premise of a dog as mayor yields plenty of jokes—Mayor Good Boy gets distracted by a hunk of cheese in his pursuit of one of the thieves—the book also contains a strong message about working together and supporting others. Backmatter includes a demonstration of comics production from script to sketch to finished page. There are also four recipes, each from a different character. In addition to the beige-skinned Ableman siblings, the town is relatively diverse.
As charming and spontaneous as the first installment. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-12489-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Spud-tacular.
Best buds Waffle, Curly, and Sweet Potato mash an invading fleet of UFO-nion Rings in this sizzling series starter.
Leaving no possible pun unturned, Geron dishes up a tale of three yummy anthropomorphic fries who, sporting Ghostbuster-style packs filled with ketchup, mustard, and mayo, rise up in defense of Spudtown (in guess which state) when hordes of circle-shaped alien invaders descend from the skies chanting, “Onion ring to rule them all!” Hardly have the grimacing, greasy rounds been properly battered, though, than Mayor Spud is snatched by a huge and bulbous cybernetic Mothership. “Holy aioli.” Can the intrepid trio find a way to slice and dice the blooming behemoth before it escapes to “deep-fried space,” or will the whole episode end in tears? Using colors as emphatic as the frequent sound effects, Ho cranks up the temperature in simply drawn panels of fast-food action that, ultimately, hurtles headlong into a peaceable caramelization and general celebrations of both differences and three new “home fry heroes.” Readers will demand extra helpings.
Spud-tacular. (Graphic fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781524879433
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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