A nuanced and overall celebratory story.
An overview of the astonishing range of vital community services public libraries offer (and have offered) in the United States.
Tracing their origin back to 18th-century subscription libraries, Loonin chronicles the growth of public libraries and library systems in this country—but her focus remains fairly steadily on highlighting their founding principles of open access in the service of promoting informed citizenship and their central roles as “third places” (after homes and schools or workplaces), where communities can gather to exchange values and views. She’s refreshingly frank about library benefactor Andrew Carnegie’s harsh anti-labor tactics, systemic flaws in the Dewey Decimal System, the personal failings of its inventor, Melvil Dewey, and instances where libraries haven’t lived up to their “free to all” ideals, due to censorship demands or prejudice against racial and immigrant groups. But Loonin can rightly claim that in general, public libraries have a proud history of resisting such pressures in defense of both intellectual freedom and freedom of opportunity. The book includes a dazzling recounting of services and programs promoting job skills and multiple types of literacy, special children’s and teen spaces and services, lending libraries of tools and other objects, and outreach to underserved populations (from the Appalachian packhorse librarians to efforts to bridge the digital divide). Photos show diverse library users and library settings.
A nuanced and overall celebratory story. (source notes, for further research, index, picture credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9781678213480
Page Count: 64
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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