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
Lovingly evokes a lost time.
Patrick Gilmore was a mid-19th-century superstar who was the recognized initiator of the golden age of American band music.
He played music all his life, first in Ireland and then in the United States. He led numerous bands throughout New England, and he was a bandleader for a Massachusetts regiment in the Civil War. He made his real mark on the music scene several years after the end of the war, when, filled with optimism, he organized a huge celebration—a peace jubilee—to remind the nation that it was united again. It was to be so big and loud and grand that it would involve hundreds of musicians and singers, church bells, anvils, cannon and a new venue large enough to hold it all. Potter employs a direct, accessible narration to describe the years of painstaking preparation and carefully builds anticipation for the main event. Words that represent sounds stand out in large bold type of varying designs; they are incorporated into Tavares’ illustrations, rendered in softly hued watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil. Instruments “toot,” “shreet” and “waaa.” The thundering roars and booms can all be heard as if readers were right there listening. Fame is fleeting, and Gilmore has been overshadowed by Sousa and then forgotten, but Potter brings his achievements into focus again.
Lovingly evokes a lost time. (author’s note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)Pub Date: April 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5856-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Good for a few laughs but only for readers who are willing to overlook the cultural cluelessness.
For one wannabe samurai, the path to martial arts stardom is paved with mischief and hijinks.
At Master Snow’s martial arts school, Tao likes to pretend he’s a grandmaster but more often ends up playing the role of class clown. Impetuous and energetic, he struggles with silent meditation and archery; it’s a shame his knack for samurai video games doesn’t help him with his actual studies. This graphic-novel series follows Tao’s scrapes and adventures through a sequence of one- to two-page episodes, each focused on a single gag. Though some later vignettes build upon earlier ones—Tao’s puppy-love crush on his classmate, Kat, develops over the course of the simultaneously publishing sequel, Ninjas and Knock Outs!—there’s no overarching plot to the volumes or series. Ryser’s playful, roly-poly art complements the graphic novel’s silly humor, but unfortunately, Richard’s worldbuilding is a disappointing, stereotypically “Oriental” mishmash, apparently including everything he can think of: origami, jogging sumo wrestlers, conical hats, gongs and more. The students learn both Japanese and Chinese martial arts—including karate, judo, kung fu and tai chi—as if those disciplines and cultures were interchangeable.
Good for a few laughs but only for readers who are willing to overlook the cultural cluelessness. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4677-2174-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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